NBA ‘Australia Day’: First look at Net Simmons v Aussie rookie

5.31 – NETS 4-20 PELS

Where there’s smoke … The Nets and Pelicans played the first three minutes of the game in a haze from all the pre-game pyrotechnics. Whether that affected the Nets is debatable — this is about as ugly as it gets. Seven turnovers and they’re down 14 already. About the only positive was Ben Simmons flushing Brooklyn’s first bucket of the 2022 season with a nifty two-handed jam off an alley-oop, following a heads up defensive play from Kyrie Irving. Zion Williamson already a problem for the Nets — they’re trying to take it inside as much as possible.

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NBA’S AUSTRALIA DAY

One of the most anticipated days in Australian NBA history will play out on Thursday when seven Aussies feature across three games.

The standout clash is Brooklyn against New Orleans from 10.30am (AEDT) on Thursday, which will see Simmons and Patty Mills take on Aussie rookie Dyson Daniels.

All eyes will be on Simmons on his first official NBA game since June 20, 2021 – a game he was bombarded with criticism following the Sixers’ second-round NBA playoff exit.

The Melbourne-born guard infamously copped heavy condemnation for passing up an open dunk late in the fourth quarter during the loss.

Philadelphia teammate Joel Embiid openly criticised Simmons, sparking the Aussie to request a trade to leave the 76ers despite being contracted.

The Sixers stood their ground and the stoush became ugly, with the Aussie copping fines for refusing to attend training.

The contractual war prolonged with Simmons sitting out at the entire 2021-2022 NBA season before eventually being traded to Brooklyn.

He didn’t go through this intense period unscathed as he battled mental health issues and a back injury that stopped him from playing for the Nets during last season’s playoffs.

Simmons will finally put all the negativity behind him when he makes his Brooklyn regular season-debut against New Orleans.

THE NBL MILLION DOLLAR MAN REVEALED. SEE THE NBL RICH LIST HERE

The 26-year-old is desperate to let his basketball do the talking again as Australia’s premier NBA player – and he has the backing of Nets superstar guard Kyrie Irving.

“With Ben being one of our leaders on our team he’s going to get a chance to really work through circumstances that many people don’t think he can work through and they’re just waiting for him to fail,” Irving told reporters.

“I don’t think I have to talk to him a lot because I understand from a human level what it’s like to go through being nervous or having anxiety or overthinking something before it happens.

“It’s the first game of a long season. We don’t want him to put too much unnecessary pressure on himself. It’s just go out there and play basketball. “Hoop. Work on what we’ve been working on in pre-season and use these 82 tour dates to our advantage and just get ready.

“I want to focus on the love and keeping everything positive around here and making sure he has the tools and keys for success which is eliminating distractions No. 1.”

Focusing solely on Simmons would be an injustice to Mills, who is also looking to showcase his skills in his second season at Brooklyn.

There is also justified hype around Daniels, who is set for a solid rookie season after being selected at No.6 By New Orleans in this year’s draft.

The Bendigo-born guard is an elite and natural scorer who will get his opportunity to contribute off the bench for the Pelicans.

Josh Giddey will open his second NBA season from 11.00am (AEDT) when his OKC Thunder take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Fellow Aussies Jock Landale (Phoenix) and Josh Green (Dallas) will also square off from 1.00pm (AEDT) while Matthew Dellavedova (Sacramento Kings) is also playing at that time.

Sydney

Matt Logue is an award-winning sports journalist and author who brings more than 20 years’ experience to NCA NewsWire. Starting out in regional newspapers in Dubbo and Bathurst, he moved to Sydney in 2006 and s… Read more

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