NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons knows what it’s like for a team to be running smoothly since he has usually been the primary facilitator of his team’s offense since he could remember. In Monday’s 139-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Simmons had just four points on five shots. However, he also had six rebounds, nine assists, and 3 three steals in a dominant defensive effort. However, his key to the win was more about what the Nets did as a whole.
“I think we read the defense well,” Simmons said when asked about what was clicking for the team on offense. “We kind of see how they’re (the Spurs) playing us, depending on what schemes they’re throwing at us. We’ve seen a numerous amount of different coverages, especially for Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Kev (Kevin Durant). So, tonight we saw they had the big man in a drop and for me, I love that. Seth’s (Curry) getting off, Kyrie’s doing his thing, Kev’s doing his thing. Just felt easy.”
Thanks to how the Spurs were defending the Nets in the pick-and-roll by using a drop coverage, like Simmons said, Brooklyn shot 62.4% from the field and 55% from behind the three-point line. The Nets’ next game is Wednesday at the Chicago Bulls.
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