Nba, pre-season: esordio per Simmons, ma Brooklyn cede a Philadelphia

After an off-season in which pretty much everything has happened, the Nets begin their pre-season by finding a Kevin Durant who seems to have forgotten his summer tantrums and finally welcoming Ben Simmons. 470 days after his last appearance on an NBA parquet, the Australian, in fact, returns to the field against his former team, composing the Brooklyn trio that at least on paper seems decidedly well matched with Irving and KD. Philadelphia for its part shows up at the Barclays Center without its two stars, Embiid and Harden, kept at rest, but shows a sumptuous Maxey (20 points in 14 ‘) and in the end wins 127-108.

alternating current

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Simmons starts in a quintet with Irving, Durant, Claxton and the newfound Harris, who was forced to miss out due to injury most of last season. The Nets quickly make it clear that there will be a lot of work for Steve Nash but also give the home crowd glimpses of intriguing basketball. During the pre-season, defending aggressively often becomes optional and Brooklyn doesn’t even try in the first quarter, conceding Phila’s reserves 42 points. The 76ers in the first minutes take all the shots they want, especially from long distance (8/14 from three in the first quarter) Simmons, however, wants to leave his mark and in attack he tries to make himself heard, putting his first points on the scoresheet. Nets jersey with a crushed peremptory. Durant and Irving go to alternating current, the New York team after the bad start of the match raises the level of concentration and returns to the game, in the second half, however, with so many reserves on the court, the match loses all meaning.

“there is a lot to work”

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“I am very satisfied – says at the end the special observer Ben Simmons – it is wonderful to find the parquet after a long time. Does playing against Philadelphia have a special meaning for me? No, I didn’t even think about it. I was not absolutely nervous, I just wanted do well with my new team. There is a lot of work to do, of course, but we are starting to find the right chemistry. ” The Australian ended his Nets debut with six points, five assists and four rebounds in 19 minutes of play.

Brooklyn: Durant 13 (3/4, 1/4, 4/4 tl), Claxton 12, O’Neale 11. Rimbalzi: Simmons, Claxton, Irving, Durant, Watanabe, Sharpe, Thomas 4. Assist: Simmons 5.
Philadelphia: Maxey 20 (4/4, 2/4, 6/6 TL), Korkmaz, Champagne 15. Rimbalzi: Bassey 9. Assist: Korkmaz, Harris 4.