For Ben Simmons to move toward recovering his old, Top pick structure, Nets lead trainer Jacque Vaughn said the star forward should tackle a ball condition.
Since signing the record-breaking James Harden deal last season, Simmons has been plagued by injuries. He must attack his 32-minute workload with the same intensity he would in 22 minutes.
Vaughn stated, “And that is on both ends of the floor.”
Simmons has endured a frustrating season in which every promising step forward has been met with an injury aggravation.
The lower back first. Then the swelling in my knee, which required draining. Most recently, a calf strain that kept him out of four games in a row.
In the four games he has played since recovering from the calf strain, Simmons is averaging 7.5 points, 6.75 rebounds, 6.25 assists, and 1.5 steals in 25.3 minutes. His season totals are roughly the same:
Each game, he averages 8.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Even though his play is drastically different from what it was at the beginning of the season, his minutes are not nearly impactful enough for a player of his size, salary, or projected significance to this team’s hopes of winning a championship.
Naturally, Simmons wears many hats.
He serves as a center, point guard, perimeter defender, and rim protector. He can play in the dunker’s spot, set a screen, or start the offense.
He can guard every one of the five situations on then floor.
However, the Nets still expect a high level of play, as Kevin Durant stated earlier in the season, even when players return from injury.
Durant is of the opinion that if you are healthy enough to play, you can also play hard. Vaughn follows precisely.
Before Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, the Nets’ coach stated, “[for Ben], that’s increasing the pace every single opportunity that he gets and that’s also defensively.”
He is in the position of defending the ball against the guard, which presents a challenge for him on the perimeter.
However, Kristian is the biggest player on the floor at times because we play small. Therefore, he must play like a five.
Can he therefore safeguard the rim for us? Can he serve as a perimeter guard for us? Can he accelerate?
Therefore, everything at this high level. Not as though he’s playing 32 minutes, however 22.”
Simmons should get there, according to the data. He had been getting better with each game prior to his calf injury.
He referred to it as “very baffling” to need to work back through one more injury.
Simmons looked like a rising star in the seven games leading up to his four-game absence, averaging 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals.
Most importantly, he played quickly, aggressively, and forcefully.
Vaughn wants to see that next. He wants Simmons to play 32-minute spurts with the same intensity he would for 22 minutes.
Vaughn continued, “That goes really for the whole group, too.”
If we can get him to play at that speed, he will begin to think, “I won’t waste any opportunity, and I won’t waste any possessions.”
That’s the mindset and mentality we try to adopt.