Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons isn’t the aggressive scorer he once used to be. On Sunday, the Nets played against the New York Knicks where Simmons finished with four rebounds and eight assists. The Australian star didn’t score a single point in the contest and missed his three attempts on the field.
This led a media outlet to criticize Simmons’ performance, which led to a 114-104 loss. On X (formerly Twitter), a sports page posted a graphic of the 6-foot-10 point guard and his stats on the night.
“Just a cardio night for Ben Simmons,” the caption read.
Just a cardio night for Ben Simmons. 🏃♂️😮💨 pic.twitter.com/8Sfcu16GtU
— theScore (@theScore) November 18, 2024
On Tuesday, Brooklyn played against the Charlotte Hornets for the Emirates NBA Cup and Simmons was aggressive offensively. The three-time All-Star had 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists, resulting in a 116-115 win. His agent, Bernie Lee, didn’t forget the shots that the sports page took on his client.
Lee went on X to refer to what the page posted on Sunday.
“cardio on steroids tonight @theScore,” Lee posted.
cardio on steroids tonight @theScore https://t.co/GUlW7bg2mR
— Bernard Lee (@BernieoLee) November 20, 2024
Simmons has yet to average thirty minutes on the court in his third season with the Nets. Nonetheless, the team’s 6-9 record has benefited from his playmaking. The former Philadelphia 76ers star has played 11 games this season, averaging 5.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
Nets’ head coach on Ben Simmons’ interesting stat
This season, Ben Simmons has only shot four attempts from the free throw line. He’s played 11 games but has avoided shooting shots from the charity stripe. After their win against the Hornets, head coach for the Nets Jordi Fernandez talked about the looming concern on his lack of attempts from the line.
“Probably he’s very good at avoiding fouls. I don’t know,” Fernandez said. “He hasn’t shot free-throws. He’s a great playmaker, he makes us play fast… If you’re that good at kicking the ball ahead and finding your teammates in transition, it’s sometimes hard to find yourself dribbling into crowds.”
Fernandez wants to see an aggressive version of Simmons and attempt more shots.
Asked Jordi Fernandez if Ben Simmons attempting four free throws this season is concerning and whether he’s spoken with him about it:
“Probably he’s very good at avoiding fouls. I don’t know. He hasn’t shot free-throws. He’s a great playmaker, he makes us play fast… If you’re… pic.twitter.com/Kn8N3zS2Co
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) November 19, 2024
“Like I said before, I want him to be aggressive and attempt more shots. So that’s my goal right now, to get his attempts to go up, but I’m not worried about the free-throws. It’s like one step at a time. Probably if he attempts more shots, maybe he gets fouled more, I don’t know. But I’m not gonna be worried about it. Right now, what I know is when he’s on the court, we play faster in the fullcourt, and that to me is important for the group. So he makes us better.”
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Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignkarlmarcamurao@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
