Steve Nash Reacts To Ben Simmons Fouling Out

The Brooklyn Nets head coach knows it's going to take patience to brush the rust off Ben Simmons.

© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

It hasn't been a smooth go for Ben Simmons in the first handful of games. 

The Nets' newest star fouled out for the third time in his last four contests, extending back to the preseason finale, Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. After Ja Morant baited Simmons into his sixth and final foul on a questionable whistle, the 26-year-old argued the call but ultimately headed to the bench. 

"I think rust," Steve Nash said postgame. "I just don't think he's played a lot of basketball. He's just trying to get his game back, his confidence, and the familiarity. It's been 18 months basically. That's a long period of inactivity, and for anyone who has played the game, you know that's very difficult." 

There's no secret Simmons has struggled, attempting to regain his confidence and aggressiveness on the hardwood. The NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint. The Nets head coach believes that more and more reps for Simmons will help rinse off the rust, especially defensively. Both know that there will be more 'painful moments' included in that process. 

"A lot of it, for Ben in particular," said Nash on Simmons needing to rack up more reps with his new teammates. "For the group, collective reps are important. But for Ben, we have to have some patience for him. We're going to push him. We're going to support him. We're going to challenge him. At the same time, like I said, anyone whose played knows you can't replicate the game. When you don't play in an NBA game for however long it was, 16-18 months, it does take time to get a feel for it again. 

"Unfortunately, that's going to have some painful moments for him but at the same time, it shows he's got a lot of growth to do to get back where he is, and he's already shown a lot of glimpses. He's going to get there. It's a matter of getting the support and hopefully getting there as quickly as possible." 

Both Nash and Simmons have mentioned that the Nets star needs to be more aggressive offensively postgame, to help provide scoring assistance for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn's superstar duo tallied 35+ points in the same game for the third time as Nets but that couldn't squeeze the team to a win Monday night. 

Simmons' early night ended with seven points (2-of-5 shooting from the field / 0-of-1 shooting from 3-Point range) to pair with three boards and a team-high eight assists in 28 minutes. The bright light of his performance - outside of leading an offense that dished 27 assists on 47 made shots - was his free throws. He went 3-of-5 from the stripe, a big improvement from his recent trips to the line.