You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take. No one knows this as well as Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving.
Ben Simmons has oftentimes come under fire for his shot selection — or lack thereof — during games. That seems to be a trend that's followed him from Philly to Brooklyn.
In the third quarter of Wednesday night's Nets-Bucks matchup, a hot mic seems to catch Kyrie Irving imploring Ben Simmons to take a shot after a nice dish.
Take what they give you. Hold this lead! KD bucket pic.twitter.com/tMdQmmAN16
— Talkin’ Nets (@TalkinNets) October 27, 2022
"Shoot it, Ben!," Irving seems to yell. Instead, Simmons juggles, pulls it down and kicks it out to Kevin Durant for the 3-pointer instead.
(Hey, whatever works.)
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Simmons has gotten off to an inauspicious start to his Brooklyn Nets career. He was part of a trade that sent James Harden to Philadelphia, and subsequently missed the entirety of the 2021-22 regular season with a back issue. Simmons hasn't shown much of anything through the first four games of the Nets season, but being away from a court for a long time will do that to a player.
It's way early yet in the NBA season, but Simmons attempts are down — like, way down. He's averaging five field goals attempts per game, way under his 11.6 per game career average with the 76ers in four seasons.
Following the game, Irving urged patience for Simmons:
"You guys keep coming in here and asking me, 'What about Ben? What about Ben?' He hasn't played in two years. Give him a f***ing chance. ... We're just here to give him positive affirmations."
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 27, 2022
—Kyrie Irving on Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/AnvMrYoA2W
Irving's plea:
He has the skills to be a great professional, he's done it in the past, he hasn't played in two years. You guys keep coming in here and asking me, 'What about Ben? What about Ben?' And it's just, he hasn't played in two years. Give him a f—ing chance. You know what I mean? We stay on his s—. Stay on — I wish I could say other words, 'cause I'm from Jersey — but we stay on him. Like, you just stay on him. We're just here to give him positive affirmations while he's out there, and just let him hoop. And while he's hooping and getting back into it, we're gonna have to really jell as a team to really win as a group.
So Irving yells at Simmons and then yells at reporters for asking him about why he yelled at Simmons. Got it!
No time to rest for the 1-3 Nets who are on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday with a tough home game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
