Ben Simmons had a peculiar night during the Nets’ season opener.
Despite being in good health, energetic, and performing well, he found himself on the bench when it counted the most.
Despite contributing with 10 rebounds, the highest number of assists in the game (nine), and a block, Simmons only played for 1 minute and 53 seconds in the fourth quarter.
Spencer Dinwiddie, another starting guard, played even less at just 1 minute and 21 seconds.
The Nets squandered a late lead and ended up losing 114-113 to Cleveland.
Coach Jacque Vaughn explained the decision, pointing to the team’s need to be more physical and execute plays better.
“It’s not easy to win in the NBA. There’s not a guarantee of winning every night so you got to earn it,” Simmons said.
“We had too many turnovers. I think it just came down to details of the game. Just small plays that we needed that ended up being a huge plays for us. Stops, rebounds and buckets.”
Nets’ Ben Simmons benched in crunch time despite solid season debut https://t.co/uTMw4Gz3ls pic.twitter.com/XK5eBRzV3d
— New York Post (@nypost) October 26, 2023
