Nets guard Ben Simmons is slowly beginning to flash the form that made him a three-time All-Star in Philadelphia. AP Photo by Erik Verduzco
Ben Simmons insisted during the offseason and training camp that he was ready to return to All-Star form.
At this pace, the 6-foot-10 point guard is on his way.
Fresh off his best performance of the young season, Simmons hopes to keep filling up the stat sheet with his versatility Wednesday night when the Nets visit the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center.
Brooklyn shooting guard Cam Thomas has deservedly received the most attention during Brooklyn’s first three games, averaging 33 points per contest and matching that total in Monday night’s 133-121 victory in Charlotte.
However, Simmons has quietly been ramping up after playing just 42 games, including 33 starts, during his first season and a half with the Nets (1-2) due to mental health concerns and knee and back issues.
Returning to full-time basketball activities in the run-up to this campaign, Simmons was adamant that he could live up to the 2018 Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star resume he put up in Philadelphia before leaving the 76ers in the February 2022 trade that landed James Harden in Brooklyn.
“I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am,” Simmons insisted in August. “I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would [expletive] on the player I was last year.’”
Simmons averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists last season, well below his career numbers of 14.7, 7.8 and 7.5 in those respective categories.
Thus far this year, the native Australian is leading Brooklyn in rebounding (10.0 per contest) and assists (8.3) to go with his 8.3 points scoring average.
He had 11 points, eight assists and 10 rebounds in Brooklyn’s first win of the campaign agiainst the Hornets, and was instrumental in helping the Nets run out to a season-best 28 fast-break points.
“Yeah, I…
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