Ben Simmons made his long-awaited Brooklyn Nets debut this season. He was out for a full season and made the rounds more for his feud with the Philadelphia 76ers than for his progress on the basketball court.
As expected, he needed to shake off the rust and get his legs back under him before being back to his usual level. But some fans were worried after watching him struggle so badly to start the season.
Now, the former first-overall pick has seemingly turned the corner again. He's been more aggressive and has filled the stat sheet while playing solid defense. That's why Markieff Morris and coach Jake Vaughn took some time to praise him for his improvement.
NBA News: Markieff Morris, Jake Vaughn Laud Ben Simmons
"[He's] Healthy. He finally got his legs under him," Morris told Nets Daily. "He was off for two years. Y'all wouldn't give him a chance, y'all want to criticize him after every fu***** game. But when a guy don't play two years — because obviously, y'all wouldn't know because none of y'all played in the NBA, he had to get his body right. Contact every night, he's playing 30-plus minutes; it takes time."
"Ben, as you can see, is just feeling better physically, which is helping us," added coach Vaughn. "For him to go coast-to-coast and get easy baskets for us, to push the pace for us to get open shots for everybody else, and they're learning how to play with him and play with his pace."
When healthy, no one can deny that Simmons has the potential to be the best and most versatile defender on Earth, not to mention an elite playmaker. So, if the Nets are for real this season, they'll need the Aussie star to be the X-Factor they know he can be.
