With the preseason drawing to a for the Nets, the guys discuss some of the returns from Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton’s time on the court together so far. They played to a negative plus/ minus over the three games they played over the last couple of weeks. But will this continue through the course of the season?
Adam Armbrecht and Doug Norrie discuss what is working so far and what could change over the course the season.
They also grade out some of the play from other guys like Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and more.
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14 Comments
Yes those screens they ran for Claxton off of Ben were brilliant but they going to have to do a lot more of that to free both of those guys up to attack the rim
Its interesting that many of us have centered in on both Claxton and Simmons in how both of them need to improve their chemistry more this season on the offensive side.
Ben Simmons is our main point guard and hes done a great job of getting his teammates good open looks with his swift assist pssses and he's shown a more confident willingness to get to the rim.
But Nic Claxton's offensive side is even more important given he has the ability to create a jump shot and even experiment with three point scoring.
His defensive skills and his rim running offense are his strengths but he can take it to another level.
This is a big contract deciding year for Claxton and I hope he takes that next big leap…..
I also think we need to look ahead at what Claxton and Simmons futures could be on this team in the long term and potentially short term.
Obviously when Brooklyn wants to contend again having two non scorers in the starting lineup is going to be very tricky and tough.
If Simmons has a great year, he has one more year left before he hits free agency and his remaining salary would look more like a bargain given the new CBA and it gives Brooklyn a better chance to add more talent to this new core if they go that route.
Claxton has been a staple and homegrown player for the last few years and has improved vastly on the defensive side and had his best offensive season last year.
If Claxton wants a big contract this year he needs to have a similar performance like last season and take more leaps on the offensive side. Plus being in the tops for DPOY would definitely add to his case for a new contract too.
If Cam Johnson isn't available for the first or second game putting Lonnie Walker lV in the starting unit with Ben Simmons Mikal Bridges Nic Claxton and Spencer dinwiddie 🔥…
That's a good balance of offense and Cam Thomas can lead the second unit as the sixth man…
Keeping Ben healthy (physically and mentally) by strictly loan managing him and building up his confidence is critical for the coaching staff. Unless he's the head of the spear that takes us to the NBA finals or winning the championship, we should pull out all the stops to trading him next season.
I hope the nets give that pairing a good 20 games or so ,I think it's going to take that long before it comes together,I've watched 2 proper injury comebacks from Ben over his career it's gonna take time,on the positive side Ben looks in better shape this time around… on a side note,I don't think you'll see Elite defence until he's got that complete confidence in his body and fitness that's how it's gone previously for him
Yeah, nah (that's Australian for emphatic NO), Claxton and Simmons is not going to work, and I hope I am wrong. It's an eyesore to watch (or it might be the TV screens down under) and it's almost unfathomable to have 2 non shooters playing alongside each others in today's NBA.
Do Ben Semon for James harden trade ASAP. 😂 we have that return receipt somewhere.
I followed Ben closely in the Sixers days. One of the things he does often is he gets too fixated on the passing game and forgets he had the better scoring shot. Passing instead of dunking on Trea Young was a good example. He needs to target scoring 15-20 points every game with 12-16 shot attempts.
Excellent summary of the pre-season guys! With the new faces and a limited amount of time in the pre-season, I feel that JV did an excellent job at trying to give everyone and a variety of rotations some time to see exactly what we have and what might work best. My expectations for this season are not high…as you mentioned Doug, we are a work in progress. I just hope that everyone stays healthy and at least the Nets should be fun to watch.
Should have gave the two way to Giles and signed Bazely
I realize this might not be a popular take, and it might affect me getting a ❤️, but I can't ignore the statistics. I conducted a brief preseason comparison between point power forwards Trendon Watford and Ben Simmons and was incredibly impressed with Trendon Watford's preseason performance. In summary, Watford, as a point power forward, executed what Ben Simmons was expected to do in half the playing time. It's frustrating to me because I would have liked to see Watford get more minutes in that role with some of the starters. I understand the hype around Ben Simmons; it's a strategic move to increase his trade value. I'm not oblivious to that. I know that I've willingly put my myself in jeopardy of not getting a ❤ during the preseason wrap-up. But the numbers dont lie. 😊
No……not full-time. Luka Garza intrigues me for the Nets
Tricky balancing offense vs defense with pairing them.