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"He's a big piece of what we want to do" - Nets in awe as Ben Simmons delivers spectacular comeback game
After being unavailable for 38 straight games and recovering from a familiar back injury that kept him out for such a long time twice in his first two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, no one envisioned that Ben Simmons would deliver a jaw-dropping comeback game on Monday night against the Utah Jazz.
As he played for the first time since Nov. 6, Ben didn't show any signs of rust as he instantly made a massive difference, finishing with 10 points, 11 assists, eight boards, and two assists for 18 minutes of play off the bench. This superb two-way play he flashed has served as an x-factor in the Nets’ demolition to shock the visiting Jazz team, 147-114.
“You see how other people played so well tonight because of the impact of Ben Simmons. It’s that simple,” Jacque Vaughn said. “The looks we got tonight, the amount of 3s we got tonight, the fast break points we got tonight, the uncontested looks we got tonight, the pace that we played with. … So we did it at both ends of the floor, and Ben deserves an extreme amount of credit with the way he played.”
A difference maker
For a Nets team that desperately needed light and energy after the hellish and lopsided stretch they are experiencing thus far this season, it appears that their savior has arrived in the form of Simmons.
Brooklyn's key issues, from defense, shot creation, and versatility, were miraculously patched up upon Ben's return. The 27-year-old was doing it all, from handling the ball, playing defense, attacking the transition, and his +27 performance proved to be a huge display of his impact in Brooklyn's wire-to-wire victory.
His 11 dimes occupy the biggest chunk of the Nets’ season-high 40 dimes team assists.
“Shoutout to Ben 10,” Lonnie Walker IV said. “From the beginning of the game I think he was just locked in. He really brought that energy for us, really changed the game as far as pushing the rock in transition. When you have a whole bunch of shooters around who are ready to shoot, running with him becomes a really dangerous game.”
A promising sign in the Nets’ ongoing season run
It took the Nets such a grinding wait before they finally saw the availability of Simmons after playing just six matches this 2023-24 season. And as their urgency to win now resides at a high level, his return and strong comeback game serve as a relieving and optimistic sign in hopes of redirecting themselves heading to the second half of the season.
“I’m excited. He’s a big piece of what we want to do,” Johnson said. “I only got to play the first game of the season with him, and even then, I was fresh back [from my own hamstring injury], so it wasn’t really necessarily full-go. So I’m really excited to get back on board and re-establish that chemistry and the way we want to play.”
