Ben Simmons will be the center of more attention as the Brooklyn Nets try to keep their winning ways alive while they await the return of Kevin Durant. KD was absent due to a medial collateral ligament injury in his right knee, leaving a huge hole in Jacques Vaughn’s offense.
Without Durant, the Nets and their fans hope Simmons can outperform his 7.5 points per game this season. Inside the NBA’s Kenny Smith has an interesting suggestion for how the Aussies can improve their scoring:
(4:50)
“All he [Simmons] All it takes is watching Russell Westbrook because they’re going to back off. They backed off Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook said, ‘Now you know what, you back off, I just don’t want to go in there. I’ll run full speed at you, in my size. That’s all he can do.
“If he looks at Russell Westbrook and the role he plays, the way he scores is the same. He gets into the paint and scores and passes the same way. If he wants to be a scorer, what he has to do Just look at Russell Westbrook.
Smith’s suggestion is an oversimplification. Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook may have somewhat the same value as offensive players, but there is one big difference. The Los Angeles Lakers point guard has a lot of faith and confidence in himself.
Simmons, meanwhile, has been conspicuously without both since his underwhelming performance against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 playoffs. A pivotal moment in Game 7 of the series left the former Philadelphia 76ers star bewildered.
Philly fans didn’t forgive him for an open dunk against the undersized Trae Young in the tiebreaker.
Ben Simmons has yet to recover from that personally traumatic series. He didn’t attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter of Games 4-7. The Phillies’ loss wasn’t entirely down to the former LSU star, but he was the biggest reason their offense fell apart.
His confidence in shooting has been shattered since playing for the Brooklyn Nets. Earlier this season, A clip of Kyrie Irving desperately urging Simmons to try a close-range shot Go viral. The 6-foot-10 point guard didn’t even bother to look at the rim before throwing the ball outside.
Charles Barkley can’t compare Ben Simmons to Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook never lacked confidence or bravado. At times, his overconfidence was his downfall.
Betting favorites to win this season’s Sixth Man of the Year award A former MVP and member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He’s the league’s triple-double king and an undisputed first-round Hall of Famer.
Charles Barkley disagrees with Kenny Smith’s assessment because the two are at different levels:
“I don’t want you to compare him to Russell because Russell is a Hall of Famer and he’s one of the greatest players in the NBA. … He’s [Simmons] It’s never been the same since [against the Hawks in the playoffs]. He was afraid of being fouled. “
The Brooklyn Nets simply don’t care how Ben Simmons contributes more through his scoring. They certainly wouldn’t be happy paying $35.4 million for a player who averaged 7.5 points per game and could barely hide his utter lack of confidence.
