The Brooklyn Nets opened their 2022-23 season with a disappointing 130-108 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The game also saw the debut of Ben Simmons with the Nets, which was the first time he had taken the court in well over a year. It was safe to say that Simmons' Nets debut left a lot to be desired, though.

Simmons finished the game with just four points, five rebounds, and five assists, and he ended up fouling out midway through the third quarter, resulting in him only playing for 23 minutes. Nets fans certainly weren't happy with Simmons' putrid performance, and he was left searching for reasons for his poor performance, ultimately blaming it on being too excited to make his return to the court.

“So much going on — I think I was just too excited, honestly. But it was just great to be out there. As a first game obviously you want to win but we know the reasons we lost. It was multiple reasons we lost and those are things we can fix. We know that's not us as a team. I think there's a lot of jitters out there early on, but it was good to get that one out of the way.” – Ben Simmons, ESPN

This may be a bit of a valid reason from Simmons; after all, he hadn't played in a real NBA contest for over a year now. But he fouled out ridiculously early, and wasn't really a factor when he was on the floor. He had some solid moments, but Kevin Durant was really the only guy who showed up for Brooklyn in their season opener.

It certainly wasn't the start to the season the Nets were looking for, and much of that falls on Simmons's shoulders. He will be looking to put together some stronger performances in the future, otherwise things could get worse for Brooklyn before they get better.