The Nets lost again Wednesday night, this time at the hands of the Bucks. Brooklyn is now 1–3 to start the season, and with the caveat that it’s still quite early, the Nets are … bad. Brooklyn is second-to-last in the NBA in net rating, and its defense is currently second worst in the league. The starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton has been a disaster, having been outscored by 35 points in 49 minutes. And Steve Nash, who was ejected after an uncharacteristic tirade Wednesday, has to be feeling his seat getting warm after an underwhelming start to the season.
Brooklyn’s problems are myriad, and there’s no quick fix to turning the ship around. And yet, I’m here to humbly offer one suggestion: What about giving Simmons more minutes at center?
It’s en vogue in the NBA to fix problems by going small. It’s my go-to solution for everything. “More shooting!” many of us clamor from the sidelines, as if that’s all it takes. And with Simmons in particular, for years people have been desperate to see him play more off the ball, screening, diving and cutting off of the superstar talent he plays with. Yet allowing that “going small” is not the magical cure-all, there’s an argument to be made Brooklyn isn’t doing Simmons any favors with his current role.
