Nets’ Ben Simmons Credits Sixers’ Defensive Attack Under Nick Nurse

For the first time since last January, Ben Simmons faced the Philadelphia 76ers. On Monday night, the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Sixers for a preseason outing, which allowed the Nets to get a look at the Sixers’ new system under the head coach, Nick Nurse.

Once again, the Sixers rolled without a couple of key players. Joel Embiid, who was expected to make his preseason debut, did not travel with the team due to being under the weather. James Harden also missed the matchup as he continues to ramp up his workouts in hopes of debuting on Friday.

Then, the veteran forward PJ Tucker was ruled out as a late scratch as well, forcing the Sixers to shuffle in three different players to compete alongside Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. Despite having an unusual starting lineup, which added Kelly Oubre, De’Anthony Melton, and Paul Reed in the mix to play next to Harris and Maxey, the 76ers thrived with their uptempo attack, which offered the Nets a stiff challenge from the jump.

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Right off the rip, the Sixers got off to a 13-point lead in Monday’s game. They prevented the Nets from shooting better than 35 percent from the field and forced nine turnovers, which generated 16 points for the Sixers in the first quarter. Considering it’s just preseason, Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons credited the Sixers for offering the Nets a valuable lesson on Monday night.

“It’s good for us because we needed that,” Simmons said of the Sixers’ defense attack. “We needed to know what that pressure felt like. It’s a new team.”

By the second quarter, the Sixers expanded their lead by as many as 21 points. Once again, Brooklyn struggled to take care of the ball, turning the ball over nine more times before halftime. As a result of 18 turnovers to Philly’s four, the Nets trailed 68-51 going into the half.

“They came out from the start of the game playing like that, so that allows us to realize this is the level we got to play at if we want to be a playoff team,” Simmons added. “That was good. We needed that.”

Simmons and the Nets realized they have a ton of work to do moving forward. While they managed to climb back into the game during the second half, the turnover struggles caused them to dig a hole too deep to climb out of. Coughing it up nearly 30 times throughout the night, the Sixers produced almost 40 points in transition alone.

So far, Nick Nurse’s system has the Sixers looking much more rejuvenated this season on defense and in transition. The Sixers have yet to offer a look at the squad with its two most notable All-Stars, but the supporting cast has seemingly bought into the new head coach’s plan to keep a quick pace.

While it’s just preseason, the Sixers are showing signs of being an improved team in some of their weaker areas from the previous run.