Steve Nash is in danger of seeing his Brooklyn Nets side falling entirely out of the running for the postseason; such has been the nature of their recent nosedive, and though his team did bring an end to an 11 game losing streak, their season still hangs in the balance.
The arrival, via a trade that saw James Harden move in the opposite direction, of Ben Simmons should help to stabilize matters, but the continued absence of key performer Kevin Durant is the biggest obstacle to progress at present.
Ben Simmons was frozen out at the Philadelphia 76ers and racked up a record amount in fines over the past year while doing so, and though a lot of the fault and blame can be placed at the Australian’s feet, it does seem he’s been harshly made the scapegoat for last season’s limp playoff showing.
Simmons has lost around $19 million in fines over the course of the season, and the bad feeling that his mere presence at the organization created was the reason the 76ers had to move him on, and the Brooklyn Nets will hope that Philadelphia’s loss will be their gain.
It will take a while before he’s out on the court, though, as he’s clearly not game ready and Nash will do well to ease him in, though clearly, his team is in freefall right now and, as such, may be forced into desperate measures, especially if Durant doesn’t come back from his MCL injury any time soon.
Nash, unsurprisingly, hasn’t revealed a timeline for Simmons’ involvement but did state;
“He’s still going through all those assessments and his prep work with the performance team and trying to assess this layoff and make a plan and the forming of beginning steps of that plan,”
“So we’re still in that stage more than, you know, has he joined jumping in practice yet? So to speak.”
It should not be ignored that Simmons, when you take away all the off-field issues and potential disciplinary concerns, is a very able performer. He made it to the NBA All-Star team for three seasons straight between 2019-2021, though such is his standing in the game right now, he’d likely be among the biggest NBA All-Star Snubs of 2022 even if he were fit and playing at his best.
It’s also worth noting that in his four seasons at the Wells Fargo Center, the 76ers did make it to the postseason on three occasions.
Prior to Simmons’s arrival, the team hadn’t made it that far for five seasons in a row, so clearly, he made a positive impact in playing terms.
Nash’s side started the season with a strong run; by December, they were 21-8, but they are now a mediocre 31-28 and need to get back on track as soon as possible or risk seeing their season fizzle out.
