Biggest challenge for Nets' Ben Simmons: Staying out of foul trouble
Ben Simmons #10 of the Brooklyn Nets warms up before the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on October 26, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Credit: Getty Images/John Fisher
MILWAUKEE -- Ben Simmons understood the drill. He understood that all eyes were going to be on him in a few hours when the Nets tipped off against a championship-caliber Milwaukee Bucks team.
So, after the Nets' morning shotaround, Simmons patiently answered every question from reporters and seemed to be stumped by only one.
Going into his fourth game, about when do you think you’ll find a stride?
“If I knew, I would have it on the calendar,” Simmons said with a laugh. “There’s no estimation. That’s an internet question. You want a number from me. I can’t give you a number.”
In his first three regular-season games as a Net, Simmons has struggled to find his rhythm and place alongside superstar scorers Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. In 83 minutes of play, he has totaled just 17 points and 14 fouls. He fouled out in two games and his team is a minus-43 when he is on the floor.
Simmons' frustration reached a crescendo after he fouled out in the team’s loss in Memphis on Monday. After the game, Simmons used profane language to question the foul. On Wednesday, he avoided talking about officials and conceded that it is up to him to find a way to stay in games and play better all around.
“Like Kai says, there’s going to be times when it’s really ugly. Like the other night for me. I've had a couple games where it was ugly. Playing like [expletive]. We keep building. We keep going. We’re trying to build chemistry and get better.”
Nets coach Steve Nash said Simmons’ foul trouble has made it difficult to do some of the things the team wants to do offensively.
“We would like to play him with more shooters, but the foul trouble has really limited our options,” Nash said before Wednesday night's game. “We want to plug him in and play him . . . now you’re on the clock trying to get guys through the game without them overplaying. Foul trouble really hurts our availability to be versatile or go to different options.”
Simmons said part of his adjustment is getting used to playing with prolific scorers like Irving and Durant.
“It’s the first time I’ve played with some guys that can hoop like this,” Simmons said. “For me, it’s understanding when they need to get the ball and understanding when it’s my turn to attack the ball and be selfish."
In his four seasons in Philadelphia, Simmons did not have a glaring problem when it came to fouling out of games and was considered one of the top defenders in the league. He missed all of last season because of back and mental health issues and was traded to the Nets in February.
After not playing for more than 15 months, Simmons conceded it is taking some time for him to adjust.
“It’s two games. Three if you count the preseason,” Simmons said about his foul problems. “I just have to keep getting better and improving and keep that physicality without fouling. Being smart. Staying out of foul trouble.”
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Simmons’ defensive skills present a huge challenge to any offense.
“He’s a guy who can guard one through five, every position on the court,” Budenholzer said in his pregame news conference. “To do that, you have to have a quickness. And you have to have a strength and base to guard bigger guys. He’s a very unique athlete to have all those skills and a mindset to do it. He’s very unique. He’s been gifted with the body, the strength, the athleticism.”
Simmons is confident he will figure it out and get back to the player he was.
“It’s probably just getting back to that defensive mindset of being smart but being physical at the same time, which is tough,” Simmons said. “Not many guys can do that. But it’s on me.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
