Have you been waiting for Ben Simmons to finally hit his stride with the Nets? Indications have pointed to that happening over the past three games.
Ben Simmons scoring this season:
47 PTS — First 9 games
48 PTS — Last 3 games pic.twitter.com/0I4cpmQ1wu— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 21, 2022
In those first nine games, Simmons had failed to score more than nine points. His first game with double-digit points came on November 15th during the Nets’ blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings. He scored 11 points in that contest and followed it with another 15 two days later during a win vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.
In Brooklyn’s return home Sunday night to the Barclays Center to face the Memphis Grizzlies, Simmons put up a season-high 22 points. This was accompanied by eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal. His plus/minus rating has also gone from -3 to +13 to +19 during this three-game span.
It’s taken Simmons a little while, but he’s finally starting to get into a groove. After missing all of last year with a back issue and missing a few games this month with a knee problem, it seems like he just needed time to get his feet underneath him again.
This happened just in time, too. After Sunday night’s home game, the Nets are back on the road for three more contests before returning to Brooklyn. The first game is Tuesday night against Simmons’ former squad, the Philadelphia 76ers.
When asked about what his reception from the Philly crowd will be, Simmons provided the only correct answer:
Ben Simmons knows what’s in store Tuesday ?pic.twitter.com/PzZ2FNVp4p
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) November 21, 2022
Just an outstanding reaction that will surely be used on the internet for an indefinite period of time.
We’ll see if he can keep building on the past three games Tuesday night against his former team. He won’t exactly be exchanging pleasantries with Sixers fans, so it’ll be interesting to watch Simmons navigate that with his play on the floor.
Either way, this mini-breakout is what the Nets have been waiting all season for.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
