The Brooklyn Nets appeared to be rounding into better form after they won four of their first five games following Kyrie Irving's indefinite suspension, despite the ongoing struggles of Ben Simmons. However, the Nets may have been hit with a reality check in their two most recent games, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and then getting blown out by the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, 153-121, after allowing the most points to a team thus far in the season.
The Nets allowed the Kings to shoot 60.2 percent from the field to go along with a blistering 20/41 from downtown (48.8 percent), rendering Kevin Durant's 27-point night moot. After the game, Ben Simmons did not sugarcoat the beating his team received at the hands of the streaking Kings, saying that their performance was simply “unacceptable”. Moreover, he also conceded that Sacramento, simply, was the better team.
“S–t, we got smacked. They were better offensively and defensively. They played as a team. Four quarters,” Simmons said, per Nick Friedell.
Indeed, the Kings ran circles around the Nets. Clearly, Simmons and the rest of his team just didn't exert the requisite effort and energy needed to topple the hot-shooting Kings. After Seth Curry nailed a triple to tie the game at 40 apiece in the second quarter, the Kings proceeded to score 16 unanswered points, giving them a huge lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Nets dropped to 6-9 after their most recent loss, and Ben Simmons' disappointing play has been one of the primary reasons the Nets have struggled to begin the year. Playing the three-time All-Star in a backup center role, much like the Nets have done with Simmons in recent games, is certainly not what the front office envisioned when they acquired him as the centerpiece in the James Harden trade.
However, it seems as if Simmons is showing signs of life, as he recently scored in double digits for the first time in 500 days. At the end of the day, the Nets will need the 6'10 point forward to snap out of his slump and play like the two-way star he's been in the past, especially with the Kyrie Irving situation yet to reach its conclusion.
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