Ben Simmons in the fog

For their home debut, the Nets flopped! Quickly led, they sank steeply in the first quarter, conceding a 32-14 with a pitiful 6/20 on shots, plus 9 stray bullets and a deficit of 10 rebounds (18-8).

Served at the alley-oop to open the counter for his new team at the start of the match, his first since June 20, 2021, Ben Simmons went through this match like a ghost, with only 4 points, plus 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 23 minutes. . His other basket? Another alley-oop at the very end of the game, when the dice were thrown…

“I just think he’s rusty”explains Steve Nash on ESPN. “The guy hasn’t played for over a year. He is still getting used to referees, defense, attack. It’s a process for Ben, I’ve said it a lot and you already know it. He showed in sequence the player that we know he is and that he can be, but it won’t be easy. We will be there to support him and bring him to his best level. »

Always able to shift a teammate for an easy basket, from near and far, for Nic Claxton and Kevin Durant respectively, Ben Simmons, on the other hand, was in more difficulty to be dangerous offensively. Worse, he was crushed by Zion Williamson (25 points, 9 rebounds) individually.

“So many things at the same time. I think I had too much excitement honestly,” reacted Ben Simmons afterwards. “But it was great to be able to be on the pitch. For the first match, we would obviously like to win but we know why we lost. There are several reasons for this defeat and these are things that we can fix. We know it wasn’t us collectively [hier soir]. There was a lot of apprehension at the start of the game, but hey, now that first game is behind us. »

“I have to calm down, I was too impatient”

Dominated in almost all areas of the game, facing a “Big Three” very present on the New Orleans side, the Nets conceded 36 points after the Pelicans’ offensive rebound! At 61-39 in the battle for the rebound, Brooklyn was eaten in the field, caught in the act of insufficient effort, from the opening game.

” That will take time. Having back surgery and being sidelined for a year, there are little things your head wants you to do but your body doesn’t. I have to calm down, I was too impatient too”continues Ben Simmons. “We were dominated in rebounds, they were more physical. They just wanted more than us. »

Dropped at 18 lengths after the first quarter, the Nets finished at -22, having counted up to 26 outlay points. An evening to forget for Brooklyn. And even more for his “point forward”, sent off for six fouls after 23 minutes of play. The aggressiveness slider was too low in attack and too high in defense!

“We told him in the locker room that he was an essential part of the team and that we needed him on the pitch. Going out for six fouls is not an option,” said Kyrie Irving in the New York Post. “We want him to play aggressively but we want him to play smarter even more. »

Their next chance to put their heads together is Friday when they host the Raptors.