Things haven't exactly panned out great for Ben Simmons so far. He's now played three games for the Brooklyn Nets, but at this point, it's hard to deny that the former Rookie of the Year has still left a lot to be desired.

It was another forgettable evening for Simmons on Monday as the Nets suffered a 134-124 defeat at the hands of Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. Simmons fouled out after 28 minutes of play, finishing the loss with seven points, three rebounds, eight assists, and five turnovers.

Right now, Simmons has fouled out in two out of his three appearances for Brooklyn after accumulating nearly as many fouls (14) as he has points (17) (h/t Bleacher Report on Twitter):

The eight assists are a bright spot, though, as Simmons was able to showcase his elite playmaking abilities against Memphis. Along with his defense, this has perhaps been the best aspect of his game early on, with the All-Star point guard now averaging 7.0 assists over three games.

The sad part about all this is that the naysayers are obviously going to be focusing on the negative aspect of Simmons' performances. There's no denying that he's struggled with foul trouble thus far, but I guess this also comes with the territory, given how he's considered one of the top defenders in the NBA today.

Things only get tougher from here on out for the 1-2 Nets, with a back-to-back matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and Thursday. Simmons is now set to test his defensive prowess against two of the best offensive players in the game in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic.