In this hot summer, the Nets have been wrapped up in all kinds of troubles. The two core players in the team, Durant and Irving, have not yet decided whether to stay or stay. The supporting cast of the team has been updated, but they have not yet received the slightest run-in and inspection.
Of course, Ben Simmons’ situation is equally worrying. After undergoing lower back surgery in early May this year, Simmons has entered a long recovery period, and when he will recover, when he will recover physically, and when will he be able to regain his competitive state, these questions are difficult to answer at this stage.
But it is clear that, at least next season, the Nets have no plans to trade Simmons for the time being. They will at least try Bensi for a while before making a decision on his future.
As for how to use Simmons? This may be something the Nets need to think about right now. Today, a column for the Nets proposed a plan that Simmons should switch to center in the new season.
This point of view may seem abrupt at first, but it is no longer an original trick. In fact, as early as when Simmons joined the Nets, Nets coach Steve Nash gave a similar view. His original words were, “I think he can play both point guard and center. He is too all-round, too versatile, his skills are very good, if he is only allowed to play point guard, it will limit his talent… He can also play center sometimes, or even play a kind of positionless basketball, he has many advantages Change also contains a lot of skills.”
Of course, Nash wasn’t alone in discovering Simmons’ diverse traits. Brian Lewis, a reporter who has been covering the Nets with the team for a long time, also wrote an article and mentioned some memory fragments of the past. A set of data shows that in the 4 seasons that Benxi played for the 76ers in a healthy manner, the percentage of possessions he played as a center on the defensive end were 8.1%, 10.9%, 6.5%, and 7.6%, respectively. The highest season exceeded 10 percentage points. In the offense, he also played as a center in 6.7%, 8.2%, 7.5% and 7.2% of his possessions, respectively.
The game that impressed Lewis the most was precisely related to the Nets, the third game of the first round of the 2019 playoffs. That night, when Embiid missed the game due to injury, Simmons played a cameo at the center position in the small-ball lineup. As a result, in that game, Bency had the most brilliant performance in the playoffs, scoring 31 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 3. Blocked 2 steals, shot 11 of 13, and hit 84.6%. Based on the above facts, many people can’t help but imagine that in the future, Simmons can completely replicate a similar role in the Nets.
More than a year ago, Simmons broke with his old club in a fit of anger because he could not bear the humiliation of the 76ers fans. After that, his defect of not being able to shoot was greatly magnified in the constant media hype.
But calm down and analyze Simmons’ characteristics. In addition to his shooting shortcomings, many of his advantages are very scarce in today’s league. For example, his excellent ball handling skills, his good basketball IQ and overall situation, his ability to defend from 1 to 5, can all find a foothold in the system of most teams today.
For this, Simmons teammate Seth Curry sees it more clearly. Curry Jr. believes that Bency doesn’t even need to practice shooting deliberately. As long as he can improve his free throw percentage, he can go straight to the basket with confidence.
In the future, after Simmons recovers from injury, it may take some effort and time for him to find his form, but don’t easily question Simmons’ talent because of his experience in the past year or more. Because as long as he does a good job in defense, rebounding, connecting the whole team, and helping his teammates continue to score, these contributions are enough to prove his worth. As for whether Simmons can improve his shooting, and whether his game attitude is still the same as before , outsiders can only show full patience to wait and watch… (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more
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