The Brooklyn Nets opened the preseason with a 127-108 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night. Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant shared the floor for the first time in the loss.

Here are three takeaways from Brooklyn's first game action of the 2022-23 season. 

3. The Ben Simmons fit with the Nets is going to take time

Two words that could describe the Nets’ start to Monday night’s game: Rusty and unfamiliar.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 42-26 lead after one quarter, knocking down eight of 14 threes in the opening frame. Brooklyn struggled to find a rhythm offensively with Simmons, Irving and Durant getting a feel for each other in their first game together.

Simmons handled the bulk of ball-handling responsibilities in the first half. He also spent some time at center. A certain level of rust was expected with the three-time All-Star appearing for the first time in 470 days. Simmons struggled to find his touch from the mid-range and free-throw line. However, the former number one pick found his flow as a playmaker early, registering five assists in the first half.

Figuring out the fit alongside Simmons is going to take time for Irving and Durant, as well as Brooklyn's supporting cast. The Nets struggled to find their spots early with Simmons and Nic Claxton sharing the floor as non-shooters. Overall, Simmons ended with six points, five assists, and four rebounds on 3/6 shooting from the field in 19 minutes on the court. Head coach Steve Nash said Simmons is going to need time to develop his feel for the game in differing fits around Claxton.

“It's a process,” Nash said. “For him to play with Nic, to play without Nic, to have the ball with Nic on the floor, to have the ball without Nic on the floor. And also to be, you know, not the ball handler when Nic's out there. So it's kind of almost three versions you can look at. That just takes time for him to get a feel for it. But he can be dynamic in each of those roles.”

The rest of the Nets will need to make their own adjustments as Simmons gets a feel for the different roles as well. Seth Curry played with Simmons in 2020-21 and alluded to a transition period for his Nets teammates at media day.

“I kind of have a head start because I know how to play with Ben already,” Curry shared. “It takes a little bit of an adjustment for some guys, some guys are going to have to get used to it, just his spacing and the way he pushes the ball and some of his playmaking.”

Despite some early struggles, Simmons said he enjoyed the process of making mistakes and learning from his teammates Monday night.

“It was fun messing up because I know how good we can be,” Simmons said. “Seeing different looks and opportunities, and working with Kevin and Kai and Joe, seeing where they want the ball and how things are going to work in the flow. The only way you are going to learn is by making mistakes. So, I had a few out there tonight. I can go and watch film and say I know what I did wrong and how to fix that. It’s all a learning process for me, so it's good.

Brooklyn has three remaining preseason games to gain a better understanding of Simmons in different roles. But it would not be surprising to see the adjustment period for the new-look roster linger into the opening weeks of the regular season.

2. Ben Simmons is at his best alongside four shooters

The Nets caught fire in the second quarter, outscoring the 76ers 36-23 in the frame. Brooklyn spent a fair amount of the period with Simmons at center. Nash closed the half with a lineup of Irving, O’Neale, Harris, Durant and Simmons, a group he should frequently use in crunch time this season.

Brooklyn shot 14 of 23 from the field and 6 of 12 from three in the quarter. The ball movement increased substantially with Simmons orchestrating the offense in a point center role surrounded by four shooters.

The Nets need a stretch big if they want to unlock Simmons’ full offensive potential without giving up substantial size. Markieff Morris is Brooklyn’s only floor-spacing center to start the season. The 33-year-old is a 34.1 percent career shooter from deep and knocked down both of his three-point attempts Monday.

Brooklyn could make a move for a stretch big later in the season. Indiana’s Myles Turner has been connected to the Nets in recent years. Until then, Morris will be the floor-spacing option at the five. Claxton will likely start alongside Simmons to open the season, but Brooklyn will be at its best with four shooters surrounding the playmaking Simmons.

1. The Nets are pushing the pace with Ben Simmons

If one thing was obvious on Monday night, it was that Brooklyn is pushing the pace with this new roster, and Ben Simmons is at the center of that. The Aussie excelled while pushing the pace with Philadelphia in 2020-21, averaging the second most assists in transition per game (2.7) among all NBA players. Simmons is a force pushing the ball and finding teammates off defensive rebounds. Durant spoke on that ability Wednesday.

“Having a guy that can rebound and actually push instead of waiting for the guard to come back and get the ball, it takes away a couple more seconds of just lag time, so when Ben gets up the court he's pushing it,” Durant said.

Simmons’ responsibility orchestrating the break Monday night was not limited to his own defensive rebounds. His teammates were frequently searching for him up the floor on lead passes to spring the break, something Durant also touched on Wednesday.

“Ben's also running in transition,” Durant said. “We kick ahead to him and he gets off the glass and pushes. But it's all about getting stops and finishing plays on the defensive side.”

The transition attack was the most successful aspect of Brooklyn’s offensive game Monday, with Simmons, Durant and Irving finding trailers for open dunks or shooters on the perimeter. Nash spoke postgame about how the increased pace sparked the Nets' offense.

“Offensively, when we started to play with pace, make quick decisions, share the ball, you can see that we can cause problems,” Nash said. “So very early, lots to work on. Every day is an important day for this group, things so new to one another, but I think you could see at times the work we put in this week.”

The Nets ranked 11th in pace last season. Expect that number to increase substantially as Brooklyn makes the transition attack built around Simmons a focal point of its offense this year.

Nets fans finally got their long-awaited debut of the new-look big three Monday night. Brooklyn continues preseason action Thursday at home against Miami.