Ben Simmons' playing time decreased yet again on Monday night, down to below 13 minutes as his workload diminished for the third straight time since returning from knee soreness.
In his diminished playing time, Simmons scored just two points on two field goal attempts, turned down a seemingly wide open layup in a possession that ended in a turnover, and was a -4 in a loss to the Knicks, the first time he has lost to New York in his career.
After the game, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn made it clear that finding a role for Simmons is a challenge, as Simmons continues to provide very little on the offensive end.
"Trying to figure out what lineup fits around Ben, what position fits for Ben, how we can make him look good at every opportunity. That's the goal, and 'm still trying to figure that out," Ben Simmons. "That's on me to figure it out. But I think overall as a team, we're gonna try different lineups to figure this thing out.
"There's gonna be some work that we have to do. You just take a look at what the lineups could potentially look like, you put another big next to Ben, then you have to figure out what the spacing is around him. You put a playmaker next to him, then you gotta figure out what Ben looks like without the basketball. Then if you small with Ben, then you gotta figure out if you can rebound enough with him."
Simmons' Brooklyn tenure has been riddled with injury and uncertainty, not just centered around his availability, but what he can provide the team even when he is available. Needless to say, Vaughn has his work cut out for him.
"The challenges are ahead of us," Vaughn said. "We'll look them head on. We'll figure it out. We have the personnel to figure it out…but you see the challenges that lie ahead."
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