When Will the Nets Panic & Bring Out Simmons?

[ozgod]

I mean, maybe he plays? But he hasn’t been on an NBA court in a year, and he’s never played with the Nets. What’s his timing going to be like, and is he going to know the switch and blitz coverages, how the team schemes? They reported two days ago he hasn’t even started doing sprints, so what’s his conditioning? They’re going to throw him into game 5 of a very physical series and hope for the best? I remember what our D looked like the first few games…

TP, my sentiments exactly. It's not a pickup game. Unless he has been secretly practicing with the team he won't know the schemes and a playoff series isn't like a regular season game, Ime and the Cs will look to exploit his lack of knowledge. And it's not a one on one game these days either. It's easy to get Simmons off whoever he is defending, they just run a switch.

Then you have to consider his match fitness. Even if he plays 10 mins a game I'm not sure how productive he would be. I would imagine it would take Timelord some time to get back in sync after missing a few weeks, and that's with him playing with the team all year. Imagine how much harder it would be for Simmons.

Obviously if they end up being on the verge of elimination they have nothing to lose, but if it's a tightly contested series I would be surprised to see him suit up. I think all the chatter about him being "on the verge" of playing is coming from Rich Paul, not anyone in the Nets. I don't think any of them are expecting him to play.

[pokeKingCurtis]

If Simmons comes back …..the garden has to get on his case and rag him to no end.   His mind is fragile as his body ….bad back and all…..

 focus efforts on picking on Kyrie as much as possible

[Walker Wiggle]

It will not happen in this postseason, because Simmons himself and his people will not allow it. He does not want to play this year, and certainly not in a situation where he has to perform in front of a hostile crowd with his team facing the prospect of elimination.

[action781]

A series doesn't start until a home team loses a game.  Brooklyn has no reason to panic yet.

[Roy H.]

Simmons is now "pain free", according to Ramona Shelbourne. 

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1516136300465770500

[Csfan1984]

When off season FA starts

[Kernewek]

It will not happen in this postseason, because Simmons himself and his people will not allow it. He does not want to play this year, and certainly not in a situation where he has to perform in front of a hostile crowd with his team facing the prospect of elimination.

Agreed, but also at present he's absolutely the second best Australian PG on the roster. There's no meaningful argument for giving any of Mills' minutes to a recovering trade deadline acquisition who has performance allergies in the fourth quarter.

[footey]

I think we will see Simmons game 3.  He is reportedly pain free.  They could use him as an alternate big.  Alternate him with Claxton, one of them starting. Bench Drummond.

Question is whether Boston "panics" and brings back Rob Williams if Ben Simmons creates mismatch problems for us.  Rob would be ideal antidote, since he could slack off non-shooter Simmons. 

[ozgod]

I think we will see Simmons game 3.  He is reportedly pain free.  They could use him as an alternate big.  Alternate him with Claxton, one of them starting. Bench Drummond.

Question is whether Boston "panics" and brings back Rob Williams if Ben Simmons creates mismatch problems for us.  Rob would be ideal antidote, since he could slack off non-shooter Simmons.

Has Simmons ever played as a big? I don’t think he ever played that position even when Embiid was injured. Apparently he hates it.

If they throw him into a position he’s never played and force him to occupy spots on the court he doesn’t normally occupy after a year out, I would think Ime would attack him as a weak spot.

[Atzar]

It's hard to know what to expect from Simmons if he sees the court in this series.  The reports have seemed at odds with each other, with some of them expressing confidence that he'll be ready in a week and others that say he was just cleared for contact and 5-on-5 work.  I guess it's not impossible for both of those things to be true, but it probably means that Simmons' workload will be limited by his conditioning. 

Do they think he's going to jump in on the deep end and shut down Tatum after having missed an entire season and changed teams?  A healthy, in-shape Simmons has been a good answer to Tatum in the past.  Not sure how well a rusty Simmons with an iffy back and in a new system can be expected to guard him though.  Also, it's worth noting that Tatum has improved in the time that Simmons has been out, too.  What used to work on him defensively might not necessarily work on him now. 

It's possible that Simmons glues that Nets team together, solving their biggest defensive issues and giving them another competent decision-maker on offense.  It's also possible that he's just not ready for playoff basketball and the Celtics play him off the court. 

[moiso]

It will not happen in this postseason, because Simmons himself and his people will not allow it. He does not want to play this year, and certainly not in a situation where he has to perform in front of a hostile crowd with his team facing the prospect of elimination.

There is a good chance that you are right and all of these "updates" on his condition are just spin for public consumption.  Nets lose game 1 in which Durant sucked and Kyrie is under scrutiny for the middle finger... the next day it's bam, Simmons' back is pain free so everyone please talk about this instead.

[Moranis]

If Simmons was in the game on the final possession there is no way Tatum gets that easy of a layup.  That is what Simmons can provide.  In key moments, he can play a big role on defense.

[footey]

If Simmons was in the game on the final possession there is no way Tatum gets that easy of a layup.  That is what Simmons can provide.  In key moments, he can play a big role on defense.

But chances are he would not have been on the floor at that time, as we did not call time out after rebounding their miss. If Ime had called timeout, the Nets would have put in their defensive lineup which if Simmons were cleared to play and able, would have included him.  Another reason the no call timeout by Ime was brilliant.

[sgrogan]

If Simmons was in the game on the final possession there is no way Tatum gets that easy of a layup.  That is what Simmons can provide.  In key moments, he can play a big role on defense.

But chances are he would not have been on the floor at that time, as we did not call time out after rebounding their miss. If Ime had called timeout, the Nets would have put in their defensive lineup which if Simmons were cleared to play and able, would have included him.  Another reason the no call timeout by Ime was brilliant.

Well Simmons wasn't available so if Ime was thinking that, its not the reason to not call call a time out...

Everyone is caught up in Simmons draft status/contract/prominent role on the Sixers.
He doesn't need to do any of those things for the Nets.
All he has to do to impact the series is to play energetic defense in 2 minute spurts.

[wdleehi]

If Simmons was in the game on the final possession there is no way Tatum gets that easy of a layup.  That is what Simmons can provide.  In key moments, he can play a big role on defense.

Would Simmons been on Tatum at that point?   Even if he was on the floor, would there have been time for him to switch on to Tatum?