Before the trade deadline, the Nets sent James Harden away in exchange for Ben Simmons. Although Simmons's overall strength and fame are not as good as Harden's, and he is a controversial player, Sam Squadren, an expert in synergy sports at the American data company Synergy, wrote that he is optimistic about Simmons's explosion in the Nets, because the Nets are the team that best suits their unique technical characteristics.
Since Simmons entered the industry as a champion, 76ers have encountered great challenges in building a team around him, because Simmons's technical characteristics are too unique. As a player with a height of 2 meters 11 and physical conditions enough to play inside, he likes to play point guard with the ball in his hand. Obviously, he has a lot of time to hold the ball on the outside line, but he does not have the ability to shoot from the middle and long distance.
If you want to use Simmons well, you have to have a strong scorer with the ball and let Simmons play the role of cover in the block. If you give Simmons the ball and let him play the ball carrier, you have to have enough shooters around him. Looking at the league, the most suitable team for Simmons on the book may be the Nets.
The Nets have kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, two top scorers, who have top-notch autonomous offensive capabilities, allowing Simmons to play more of a cover role in the block, take advantage of his body to attack the basket, or cover up like Draymond Green to pick up the pass and instigate the follow-up attack.
Simmons has a top-level passing ability, he can make quick decisions on the court, make reasonable choices, and when he has top scorers around him, this ability can be maximized. The Nets have enough top scorers in their entire lineup, and counting new signing Seth Curry, the Nets have 8 players scoring more than 1 point per game on fixed-point shots this season. Among them, Patti Mills is the most efficient, scoring 1.3 points per round and shooting 64.5% effectively. Seth Curry, Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge are also not far behind Mills, with the three of them scoring 1.21, 1.18 and 1.14 points per game. Don't forget, Joe Harris is still recuperating from injuries, and he may be the Nets' best shooter.
Simmons' passing ability has a huge bonus to the projection efficiency of his teammates, and Seth Curry is an example. In the 2020-21 season, the two built a good chemistry during the partnership, and when Simmons was on the floor, Seth Curry scored 1.61 points per round, which can be ranked no. 1 in the league throughout the season, because Simmons can give him better shooting opportunities. When Simmons wasn't on the floor, Seth Curry plummeted to 0.88 points, putting the league in 281st.
At the Nets, Simmons doesn't have to take on too much of the scenes, and the Nets don't ask him to do things beyond his ability, which allows Simmons to put more energy into the defensive end, and he's one of the most well-rounded defensive players in the league. During the Nets' ten-game losing streak, they conceded a whopping 1.1 points per possession, the worst in the defensive league.
Although the Nets lost Harden, the arrival of Simmons, Seth Curry and Drummond made the Nets still rank among the top teams in the league. If Simmons can make a comeback as soon as possible and integrate into the Nets, the Nets will still be a favorite to win the championship. The question now is, when will Simmons, who has not played so far this season, come back?
![Consecutive missed opportunities! Nash's tactics have been repeatedly questioned and only rely on KD singles Curry Owen to become a spectator[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)