Kyrie Irving jumped to the defense of his Nets teammate Ben Simmons following the team’s 110–99 loss to the Bucks on Wednesday.
Simmons struggled to get anything going against Giannis & Co., only scoring 4 points in 34 minutes. When asked how he and his teammates can get Simmons to shoot more, Irving gave an honest answer.
“I mean, I just think like if we’re going to come in and be honest as a team, I’m not trying to just be critical over what Ben’s done right or done wrong every single night,” Irving said. “He’s a basketball player, he’s a professional, he has the skills to be a great professional. He’s done it in the past and he hasn’t played in two years so you guys keep coming in here and asking me, ‘What about Ben? What about Ben?’ and it’s just he hasn’t played in two years. Give him a f------- chance.”
It isn’t the first time the seven-time All-Star has come to Simmons’s defense. Following the 26-year-old’s first regular-season game with Brooklyn on Oct. 19, Irving told reporters that he and his teammates told Simmons “he is a valuable piece for us and we need him out there.”
Simmons returns to the court after missing the 2021–22 season because of physical and mental health concerns. Before his preseason debut on Oct. 3, the point guard hadn’t played since June 20, 2021, when the 76ers lost to the Hawks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Simmons was acquired by the Nets in February via a blockbuster trade including James Harden.
“We stay on his s--- … we stay on him,” Irving continued. “We’re just here to give him positive affirmations while he’s out there and just let him hoop. While he’s hooping and getting back into it, we’re going to have to really gel as a team in order to learn how to win as a group. It’s not an individual job to go out there and be superman. He doesn’t have to.”
Brooklyn will take on the Mavericks Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
