Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has continually found himself in the news over the past two years or so for being involved in drama, both on and off the court.
For Brooklyn, the hope was that he might be able to turn things around in his first season with the Nets after being acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in the James Harden blockbuster back in February.
As you likely already know, Simmons sat out the entire 2021-22 season due to a back injury. He was seemingly 100% and ready to go for the 2022-23 campaign. Through three games, that has not been anywhere near the case. In fact, Simmons has been an utter disaster for the Nets.
He entered Monday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies averaging 5.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while attempting all of four field goals per game.
Nothing we saw from Simmons in a 134-124 road loss to Memphis on Monday changed this narrative. Simmons scored all of seven points on 2-of-5 shooting while turning the ball over five times before fouling out after 28 minutes. It’s the second time in three games that Simmons has fouled out to start the season. It was a pretty embarrassing end to his night, too.
Through three games, Simmons has scored 17 points while committing 14 fouls. That has to be among the most-disgusting stats we’ve seen from an NBA player in some time.
Heading into the season, Simmons took exception to those who had criticized him for his performance on the court.
“It finds me all the time. And it doesn’t f***ing stop. Sometimes I’m even sick of it, but then I’m like, ‘OK, I’m Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now.’”
Ben Simmons on criticism he has received
It’s one thing to take aim at critics when you’re performing well on the court. It’s a completely different thing when you are doing nothing to help your team. Simmons has been a net-negative for Brooklyn thus far this season.
To put this into perspective, the Nets fell by double digits on the road Monday night despite stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combining to score 74 points. Seventy-four points. Needless to say, Simmons was again on the receiving end of criticism from those around the basketball world for his latest disastrous performance.
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