Down 2-0, It’s Time For Nets To Remove The Bubble Wrap Around Simmons
Barring a setback with his ailing back, Ben Simmons has to make his Nets debut on Saturday.
Brooklyn, which blew a 17-point lead in Boston on Wednesday in falling, 114-107, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, isn’t going to win four-of-the-next-five contests as currently outfitted. They need something more than home court for the next two games to make this even a competitive series.
It’s true that Milwaukee was in a similar situation against Brooklyn in last year’s second round, but that series turned when Nets star guard Kyrie Irving came down on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot and was lost for the duration of the postseason. If you’re hoping for something similar to happen to one of Boston’s best players, you need to seek professional help.
Yes, the Nets were in both games in Boston despite putrid outings from superstar Kevin Durant, but the bigger picture showed that the Celtics have a logical template for how to pull these games out down the stretch while Brooklyn seems to require otherworldly shotmaking from its stars. When it doesn’t happen, there’s no plan to make life easier for them.
The Nets played a fantastic first half on Wednesday in going up by 10 points at the break, matching Boston’s physicality on both ends and tweaking defensive assignments (undersized guard Seth Curry on Boston wing Jaylen Brown instead of big man Daniel Theis, resulting in better defensive rebounding) as well as mixing up coverages to frustrate Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
That all changed after intermission. Brooklyn went back to their gratuitous switching, allowing Boston to hunt favorable matchups which required help. Since the switching also often pulled the Nets’ rim-protecting center (Andre Drummond or Nic Claxton) away from the basket, the Celtics piled up the points in the paint and catch-and-shoot 3s off drive-and-kicks.
Offensively, the Nets regressed to their isolation-heavy schemes that literally played right into the Celtics’ hands—not only did Durant shoot 0-for-10 from the floor in the second half, he coughed up the ball four times. Brooklyn also received suboptimal production from their two stars in the first half, but complementary players Curry, Bruce Brown, and Goran Dragic combined to score 38 of the team’s 65 points to keep the offense humming.
Yet Nets Head Coach Steve Nash didn’t get Dragic back into the game until the Celtics cut the Nets lead to two points with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter. In addition, the pace and off-the-ball player movement favored by Brown and Curry ground to a halt, with too many players standing around waiting for one of the stars make a play.
It’s not sustainable against a very good defensive team like Boston, whose size advantages have worn the smaller Nets down at the end of both games. As Irving said after Wednesday’s loss, the Nets aren’t going to change their identity, mainly utilizing three-guard lineups, so why would anyone think things will improve as the series progresses?
I get that the Nets might not come back in this series even with the 6-foot 10 Simmons, but ramp-up portion of his recovery from a herniated disc in his back has to be over by the weekend. The three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-Defense member, who was acquired by Brooklyn in the February 10 deadline trade with Philadelphia for James Harden after sitting out all season due to mental preparedness issues, tweaked his back while undergoing conditioning and has yet to suit up in a Nets uniform.
According to Nash, Simmons has progressed to practicing 4-on-4 with contact (the Nets don’t want their rotation pieces to overexert themselves between these grueling games; hence, 5-on-5 runs are not possible) and has not encountered any setbacks.
If that remains the case in Simmons’ next couple of workouts, the Nets need to activate him for Saturday’s must-win Game 3. What’s the point of holding him back for a Game 4 where the Nets could possibly be in an insurmountable 3-0 hole? Might as well have Simmons call it a season.
Backs can be tricky, but the Nets Performance Team needs to realize that Simmons can just as easily reinjure his back during these contact sessions as in the real games. If he’s ready to go full speed in practice, at least see what he’s got, even if it’s for about 15 minutes on Saturday. He’ll obviously be rusty, but If he helps in Brooklyn’s weakest areas (defense, rebounding, pushing the pace), great.
If not, the Nets likely weren’t winning this series anyway.