Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons laid an egg against the New York Knicks on Nov. 17, at least from a scoring standpoint.
He saw over 20 minutes of playing time, yet he failed to score a single point and missed every one of his three shots from the floor. Simmons finished the contest, which Brooklyn lost by 10 points, with no points, eight assists, four rebounds and one blocked shot.
After Simmons’ subpar scoring outing against New York, a sports page threw shade at him and implied that the 28-year-old didn’t exactly make his presence felt during his time on the court.
Just a cardio night for Ben Simmons. 🏃♂️😮💨 pic.twitter.com/8Sfcu16GtU
— theScore (@theScore) November 18, 2024
But Simmons bounced back from his zero-point performance versus the Knicks in the Nets’ most recent game, which came against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 19. Simmons’ agent, Bernie Lee, then took a victory lap.
cardio on steroids tonight @theScore https://t.co/GUlW7bg2mR
— Bernard Lee (@BernieoLee) November 20, 2024
The 28-year-old dropped 10 points and also accumulated nine rebounds and five assists in Brooklyn’s victory, which came in an NBA Cup game.
Simmons isn’t likely going to rank near the top of the league in points per game this season, to put his scoring woes mildly. But he still has a unique skill set in the sense that he’s a strong passer, rebounder and defender who can play multiple positions.
First, Simmons is dishing out the most assists per game of any player on his team so far this season at 6.8 per contest. He’s doing so despite playing only 24.5 minutes per game.
Simmons is also averaging 6.1 rebounds per game, and he remains a disruptive defender. Against Charlotte, he totaled a pair of steals and one block. All things considered, he can still be an impactful player at times.
The Nets and Simmons can earn their second NBA Cup victory of the season with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 22. The 76ers currently find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a subpar record of 2-11, so Brooklyn will look to take advantage.
