Brooklyn Nets veteran forward Jared Dudley has never been one to mince words, and that trend didn't change on Wednesday when he was asked to talk about Philadelphia 76ers point forward Ben Simmons.
Dudley, whose Nets are tied 1-1 with the Sixers in their first-round series, told reporters on Wednesday Simmons is “average” when you get him into the half court:
Jared Dudley dropping gems at media availability: "Ben Simmons is a great player in transition. And once you get him into halfcourt, he's average."
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) April 17, 2019
As we all know, Simmons has no confidence in his jump shot yet and does all of his damage in the paint. The Nets have been packing the paint against Simmons in the first two games of the series, daring the 2018 Rookie of the Year to beat them from the perimeter.
In the open court, Simmons is a one-man fast break who can get to the rim at will and finish in heavy traffic. In half-court sets, unless Simmons is posting a smaller guard up, he often struggles to score.
Dudley and the Nets held Simmons to just nine points in Game 1. The Sixers' floor general bounced back in Game 2, as Simmons put up 18 points while shooting an efficient 8-of-12 from the field. For Brooklyn to pull off the upset and win this series, it will need to keep Simmons out of the paint.
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