Brooklyn Net Ben Simmons under fire again for latest fragile act
Battling Aussie Ben Simmons is under a blowtorch once more, accused of playing scared in his latest NBA act against Milwaukee.
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Ben Simmons is back under the NBA blowtorch after his actions late in Brooklyn’s upset 115-102 win over Milwaukee on Monday (AEDT).
Still just 28 years old, Simmons is in the final season of a five-year, US$177 million ($268m) max deal he originally signed with the Philadelphia 76ers back in 2020.
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At that time, the former No. 1 pick was a highly coveted NBA asset and in the midst of a three-year run as an All Star, the first Australian to earn that honour.
Fast forward to today and the Victorian is struggling to retain any semblance of a professional career.
It famously started going south when Simmons refused to take an open dunk in a 2021 playoff loss to Atlanta, a moment that sparked his eventual exit from the Sixers.
And that moment roared back into the minds of countless basketball fans on Monday when an eerily similar moment occurred against the Bucks, as you can see in the video player above.
It started well enough, with Simmons poking a ball away from Milwaukee gun Damian Lillard with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter at the Barclays Center.
The loose ball then moved quickly from Dennis Schroder back to Simmons, who had a mostly open path to the basket ahead of him.
It’s the type of moment that makes most basketball players lick their lips at the prospect of an easy basket, but sadly, no longer Simmons.
He took two dribbles before feeding a casual pass to teammate Cam Johnson, who immediately shovelled it back.
It seemingly never crossed Simmons’ mind to attempt a shot, with the ball getting loose and eventually ending up in Schroder’s hands again, who missed a three-pointer.
Yes, defensive juggernaut Brook Lopez was hustling back to try to disrupt the fast break, but an athlete with the speed and strength of Simmons had time to make a play.
The moment left most believing Simmons is still yet to conquer the offensive frailties that have plagued him since that key moment against the Hawks.
“Oh Simmons bounces it away,” said Nets commentator Ryan Ruocco, initially praising the defensive play. “Simmons shovels, gets it back, boy Ben Simmons just —”
Exasperated co-commentator Sarah Kustok jumped in, stating: “He has to go to the basket on that. Get it and go.
“You’ve got a three-on-one, you have to attack the basket. That is exactly what you’re talking about with him. Either draw a foul or make a basket.
“You cannot be afraid of getting fouled in that scenario.”
Ruocco was struggling to compute the play, adding: “His reluctance to go to the rim, it’s just staggering to watch on plays like that.”
It has become abundantly clear Simmons has deep-seated issues both taking shots and potentially being sent to the free-throw line.
Through three games this season, he has attempted just 12 total field goals, hitting six of them.
He has also hit three of his four free-throw attempts, which all came in one game, Saturday’s loss to the Magic.
He failed to get to the line in either of the other games and is yet to attempt a three-pointer this season.
“What do we know about Ben? He can play with pace and force and it was slow bringing it up,” Kustok continued.
“The last thing you want is for other defenders to come back.
“Those are the situations where you have got to take advantage and be the type of player everyone believes you to be.”
That belief, however, has just about gone from most basketball observers.
There is huge uncertainty over the type of contract Simmons could be offered going forward, if he is offered another deal or even wants another one.
What is without question is the next contract will be significantly below his last, even allowing for salary cap increases and inflation.
While he has had a number of back operations, when he is fit, Simmons has been a shadow of his former self.
Fans were left saying the same things on social media after watching Monday’s play.
A YouTube caption of the play stated: Nets broadcast absolutely rips into Ben Simmons for being scared to take layup.
“Ben was a number 1 pick and All Star at one point. Dudes scared of his own shadow as he goes in the paint now,” was one comment.
“Lmao he hasn’t changed one bit,” wrote another.
“If Ben was in the dunk contest he’d still find someone to pass to,” quipped another fan.
“It’s all mental at this point,” added a fourth, echoing the thoughts of many.
A post of the video on X featured the caption: “It’s genuinely sad you can be this mentally terrified of the moment.”
A wide range of fans agreed with that sentiment.
One wrote: “He’s terrified of going to the line. It’s ruined his career. Ever since hack a Ben in playoffs while with Philly he stopped driving because foul shooting is a source of embarrassment for him.”
Another stated: “The wiring in his brain is so messed up it’s obviously not coming back at this point.”
There were some that took a different view of the play, suggesting Johnson was in a better position and never should have returned the ball to Simmons.
“That ball never should’ve been passed back to Ben. Lopez was facing him and keyed on him. That was a stupid overpass by Johnson,” came one comment.
“It’s not even Ben’s fault. Maybe partially for not taking the first chance. But that ball should’ve never passed back to him! This is mostly Cam’s fault. He had a much more open shot than Ben’s,” added another.
“He’s not terrified, he dropped it off expecting it to be shot lol,” insisted another.
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Regardless of the interpretation, Simmons is a shell of the player that averaged roughly 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists over the first three years of his career.
So far this season, he is averaging five points, 5.7 boards and 5.7 dimes per game.
If he doesn’t find a solution and recapture his best soon, one of Australia’s greatest ever basketball prospects could be lost to the sport completely.
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