In some sense, it’s progress that Ben Simmons is playing at all. Of course, expectations tend to be higher when you’re making north of $35 million a year, and Simmons’ early Nets tenure has been anything but encouraging, looking every bit like someone who hasn’t played competitive basketball in 16 months.
Through 83 largely uneventful minutes, Simmons has produced 17 points, 18 rebounds, 21 assists, 11 turnovers, two blocked shots and one steal. The majority of those minutes have been spent in foul trouble, including Monday night's loss to Memphis when Grizzlies All-Star Ja Morant bated Simmons into his sixth foul, sending him to an early shower for the second time in three games.
Throughout his career, Simmons’ length and athleticism have made him an elite defender, largely offsetting his anemic shooting (59.7 career free-throw percentage). However, that hasn’t been the case this season, with the 6’11” Australian ranking 399th out of 404 players in defensive win shares (teammate Kevin Durant is dead last, ironically enough) and 402nd in +/- (-45). He’s also 236th in player efficiency rating (PER), around the same range as declining veterans Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry and Celtics benchwarmer Blake Griffin.
Simmons’ rust is understandable coming off back surgery and a lost 2022 that saw him devolve into a national laughingstock, a punching bag for critics of entitled millionaires who show even the slightest vulnerability. There remains plenty of time for Simmons to round into form with approximately 97 percent of the season left to be played. But if Simmons continues to be a non-factor, the Nets may be relagated to “play-in” status for a second straight year, a hugely disappointing outcome for a team with so much star power.
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