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The Brooklyn Nets are going to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. They got there by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament, 115-108. After an up and down season, the Nets must be incredibly happy to be in this position. The roster was hit by injuries, there was a midseason trade that saw James Harden leave in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond, and the Nets had a massive losing streak in the middle of the season. All of that will be forgotten, should the Nets progress through the Celtics in this round of the playoffs. While Kevin Durant will be their leader, the Nets' X-Factor in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs will be Ben Simmons.
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Nets' X-Factors in series versus Celtics
Now, the role of X-Factor can be taken by many in the Nets roster. It could be Kevin Durant, whose offensive output is unguardable at times. It could be Kyrie Irving, whose absence dominated much of the Nets' season but he also turned the squad around upon being allowed to return. It could be anyone of their supporting guys, like Bruce Brown or Andre Drummond. However, the availability of Ben Simmons will be the key factor for the chances of the Nets versus these Celtics. While they played last season, and the Nets disposed of the C's in five games, this is not the same Celtics team. They have a ton of momentum, Jayson Tatum playing out of his mind, and a lot of stability within a franchise. The Nets need anything they can get to go through to the next round.
A huge part of getting anything available would be Simmons returning to the lineup and making his debut for the Nets. The last game he played was against the Hawks, for the Philadelphia 76ers, in game seven of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. After that game, Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers made some comments around the status of Simmons, he asked for a trade and refused to play for the franchise, despite signing a long-term deal to stay in Philly. A few months after that, after Harden became available, Simmons was traded for the Beard and ended up on the Nets, where he has been getting all the support possible. Still, due to a lack of competitive fitness and some injuries, he is still out of contention.
The latest reports coming out of the Nets camp say that Ben Simmons should be ready to play in the first round. If he is available, that gives the Nets some additional options, especially defensively. The Celtics are a great defensive team as well, slotting right behind the Warriors for the second spot in league defensive rating rankings. However, with the 7th-ranked offense, they are elite there as well. The Nets, on the other hand, have huge issues defensively, being ranked only 19th. Their best periods of basketball came when the defense was clicking, and if they can get Simmons ready by the start of this series, that defense can be great once again.
A lot of things have been said about how Ben Simmons is a liability offensively. That is fair and true, as his lack of shooting prowess prompts teams to leave him a ton of space and also foul him in situations where his team will shoot free throws. However, one thing that gets put aside often is that Simmons is an elite defender. He was second in votes for Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, and while there was a huge difference in points between himself and the winner, Rudy Gobert, he still left some incredible defenders behind him, such as Draymond Green and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ben Simmons can be the guy who stops Jayson Tatum from killing the Nets, as he has done a few times this year.
Of course, the Nets also have Kevin Durant, a great defender, but he is not on the level of Simmons, nor can he afford to spend a ton of energy defending the opposition's best player, as he needs to carry the load offensively. Simmons can take over the best player of the opposing team from the point guard, all the way up to power forward. Thus, he gives the Nets an extra weapon defensively that they will really need against the Celtics.
Additionally, if Simmons is ready to play, he will be an asset offensively. Obviously, there are issues with his shooting, but with Robert Williams likely out for the series, the C's interior defense will be weakened, giving space for Simmons to attack the basket. He can also set up both Kyrie and Durant in some incredible positions offensively with his gifted passing. Simmons has avenues to attack the Celtics in a myriad of ways, even if he will need a few games to really get back to his original level, before this break caused by all the drama from last season's playoffs. The Nets really need him to be available for this series.
In essence, the Nets have done okay without Simmons, especially since Kyrie Irving was allowed to play home games. Kevin Durant is still KD, can still score at will, and the supporting cast has had sporadic moments of brilliance, especially Bruce Brown. In the playoffs and against these Boston Celtics, that will not be enough, however, therefore Ben Simmons needs to return.
