Was Hawks Win A Sign Of New-Look Nets Or Another Outlier?
Just Shut Simmons Down
During the worst of times, it can be easy to forget that NBA players are exceptional at their craft. What separates each level is the players’ and the teams’ consistency. On any given night, however, like during Brooklyn’s wire-to-wire 124-97 victory over visiting Atlanta on Thursday, the shots fall at such awesome rates that it makes you wonder why those games can’t be bottled for regular usage as opposed to isolated occurrences.
The Hawks may have thought they were hitting Brooklyn at the right time—the Nets came into the game in a 2-8 freefall that cost them their Head Coach over the All-Star break—but they had to know they were in trouble when Nets wing Dorian Finney-Smith, who has been mired in one of the worst regression-to-the-mean slumps ever recorded (he’s shooting percentage from deep went from 45% over the first 27 games of the season to 26.5% in the 22 games since Christmas), knocked down a three-pointer 16 seconds in. Cam Johnson, who entered the game 11-for-his-last-41 on three-point attempts, drained three more triples over the next 1:51.
By the end of the night, the bricklaying Dennis Smith Jr. was hitting on fallaway 21-footers and center Day’Ron Sharpe was looking for a heat check after 3s on back-to-back possessions. In total, Brooklyn shot 22-for-46 (47.8%) from three-point territories, their second-most makes all season.
And the Nets did it without injured Ben Simmons, who is perhaps their best three-point shot creator, and Cam Thomas, their leading scorer. To be fair, Atlanta was missing All-Star guard Trae Young, but he normally isn’t of much help to their defense. To the contrary, with Young in a cast for his pinky, the Hawks smothered their last two opponents, holding them to 91.7 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
What the heck happened to a Nets team that couldn’t get out of their own way on offense since Kevin Ollie took over for Jacque Vaughn as Head Coach during the All-Star break, you ask? Besides the simple make-or-miss league component, you could tell that Brooklyn placed extra emphasis on ball-and-player movement. Ollie mentioned in his postgame press conference that he wants the Nets to wean away from isolation basketball—they’ve used the seventh-most in the league this season coming into Thursday night yet scored at the seventh-worst rate in terms of points per possession, per NBA.com.
With Thomas out, opposing teams are giving Nets wing Mikal Bridges extra attention, including blitzing pick-and-rolls, so it is incumbent upon him to give the ball up on time and his teammates to cut to the basket to present themselves for Bridges’ outlet. Brooklyn had several possessions that ended with easy buckets in the paint or open three-pointers following cuts and relocations.
Of course, one very good game does not portend a second one against the Hawks (26-33) on Saturday. The Nets (23-36) have had several such short-lived outliers this season. Their most prevalent consistency has been their inconsistency.
For Atlanta, whose lead over Brooklyn for the 10th and final play-in seed was trimmed to three games, Thursday night was their cushion. Assuming they can maintain discipline off the court in New York City, I’d expect a more intense showing from them in Game 2.
We’ll have to wait until then to see if the Nets, who didn’t face much adversity on Thursday, can string strong outings together so they can stay in the playoff hunt.
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I wish the Nets would just shut Simmons down for the season.
The daily drama is pointless at this stage of the campaign. Simmons, Brooklyn’s highest-paid player, missed his 44th of the team’s 59 games this season on Thursday.
Simmons barely played (14 minutes) in the Nets’ blowout victory in Memphis on Monday and then it was understood that his ongoing management program for the back injury that has debilitated him over the last two years wasn’t going to allow him to be cleared for the back-to-back in Orlando on Tuesday. But he wasn’t even on the Nets’ injury report 24 hours prior to the Atlanta contest, which could have been Brooklyn’s last important game of the season. Then all of sudden his name popped up during a Nets social media update, which listed him as questionable with “left leg soreness.” Of course, he was declared out before game time.
I can’t comment on the injury other than to say that if the published diagnosis was accurate, the Nets did Simmons no favors. “Leg soreness?” Who in the NBA isn’t sore by the end of February? Does anyone think Bridges, who has averaged 35 minutes playing in every game this season and has run the fourth-most miles in the league, per NBA.com, isn’t experiencing soreness all over his body?
Since only a select few understand the physical stress that accompanies professional athletes. I’m going to assume that Simmons truly wasn’t feeling right on Thursday. However, it’s also understood that NBA players benefit from perhaps the best health care in the world. If a team needs to figure out the underlying cause of any pain, they’re not hanging out for a week waiting to get an authorization for the test from an HMO like the general public. The Nets have an entire Performance Team dedicated to maintaining each player’s well-being.
Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.com noted that Simmons may have originally injured the leg during a February 24 loss in Minnesota. There was a discrepancy over whether it was related to prior left knee issues that forced Simmons to miss some time and required PRP injections and having blood drained. However, Ollie clarified to the media that the newly injured area was the “leg,” not the knee. Simmons has since been seen walking around without the need of accessories like crutches or a boot like Thomas, who clearly sprained his right ankle during the fourth quarter in Memphis.
Again, I have no insight on how Simmons’ teammates feel about him dropping out of the lineup for a big game, but I can imagine some who have played through worse injuries might have raised an eyebrow.
This situation is getting to be like the Kyrie Irving COVID-19 vaccine conundrum in that the team has to alternate game plans for when Simmons is and isn’t available. The styles and rotations are completely different, especially since Simmons plus a non-shooting big have produced horrific net ratings per 100 possessions this season. And you don’t want Simmons on the floor when you’re in the bonus late in quarters lest he be sent to the free throw line, where he is an atrocious 6-for-15 (40%) this season.
Why bother? Simmons will be on an expiring contract in the new league year and in no way should be part of Brooklyn’s future. If the Nets can get off his approximately $40.3 million 2024-25 salary cap hit to a team with cap room by including a first-round pick, it should be explored.
Until then, I hope the Nets stop the “will-he or won’t he” games. Give those 15 minutes or so to Jalen Wilson and other young players down the stretch. Nets fans won’t care if they’ve seen the last of Simmons. They’re used to it.
100 PC AGREE RE BEN