NBA Atlantic

NBA evaluators had one theory for why Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is so hesitant around the basket.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Thursday on NBA Today some scouts "believe the reason that Ben Simmons doesn't go aggressive isn't because he's afraid of missing the shot as much as he's afraid of being fouled."

Simmons is a 59.6 percent free-throw shooter and is 3-of-9 from the charity stripe to open the 2022-23 season.

It's easy to see why somebody outside the team would come to that conclusion.

Simmons' vision and playmaking are two of his stronger attributes on offense. There will inevitably be times he passes the ball off when others would've pulled up or driven to the basket. At this point, we can assume he'll simply never be much of a shooter, too.

Many notable players throughout the history of the NBA were poor free-throw shooters. Most of them either improved over time or worked around it and didn't let it affect how they played.

However, Simmons' passivity to start his Nets tenure isn't encouraging. He's averaging just 8.2 shots per 100 possessions through the first four games, half of his career average (16.3), per Basketball Reference.

Kyrie Irving audibly implored the 6'10" guard to shoot when he got the ball inside the paint in a 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kyrie: "Shoot it Ben!" 😬 https://t.co/UyIFUykQsk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 27, 2022

Irving downplayed the significance of that moment, saying it was "just a clip" and indicative of how he and his teammates "want Ben to be aggressive every single play."

But this illustrates why it might be difficult for Simmons to address whatever the underlying causes for his current slump are.

He's a three-time All-Star who plays on a team with championship aspirations, so nothing he does will fly under the radar and his every move will be thoroughly scrutinized. And the longer he struggles, the more people will talk about it.

That's a recipe for disaster for any player who's battling some sort of mental block.

It's far too early to draw any conclusions about Simmons because missing the entire 2021-22 season meant he might have a difficult adjustment early on. Nonetheless, Windhorst's report shows how he's not getting the benefit of the doubt.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum says he was "terrified" and struggled to accept the news that he and then-girlfriend Toriah Lachell would welcome a child in 2017.

In an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Tatum said Lachell told him of the pregnancy when the 2016-17 school year was nearing its end. Having finished his freshman season with Duke, he was focusing on the NBA draft.

"I was selfish at first, honestly," he said (h/t the New York Post's Ryan Glasspiegel). "I was more worried about getting drafted than I was about being a dad, because my whole life I had dreamed about going to the NBA and the best day of my life was two months away. I didn’t tell anybody—I didn't tell my teammates, the coaches, anything."

The three-time All-Star wanted to keep the news private lest it adversely affect his draft stock.

"I didn't want it to impact where I got drafted," he said. "I thought that if teams knew I was about to have a kid, they were gonna think I wasn't focused and that they wouldn't pick me, so I was terrified. I didn't want anybody to know, which was extremely selfish."

Tatum, whom the Celtics selected third overall, eventually told head coach Brad Stevens since he might need time off from the team to be with Lachell. He described Stevens as "real supportive."

Jayson Tatum Jr. was born in December 2017, and Tatum announced his birth in January 2018. Nicknamed "Deuce," his son has become a fixture at Celtics games and makes occasional appearances at press conferences.

"It kinda feels like we're leaving off from the second half of last season."@jaytatum0 talks encouraging start to the preseason.

(also most importantly Deuce crashes) 💚 pic.twitter.com/Uziw05Anyd

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 6, 2022

Tatum told the Boston Globe's Nicole Yang he's focused on his career and improving as a player, but from the outset he "was going to be the best father I could." The 24-year-old also said he hopes to be an example for others.

"I think it's the coolest part for me," he said. "If I am a role model for young fathers around the world, that's great. I think we need more role models like that—just to have more male fathers be present and show that you can do both."

Amid a disappointing 1-4 start to the season, there is reportedly some doubt regarding Doc Rivers' future as the Philadelphia 76ers' head coach.

According to ESPN's Zach Lowe on the Lowe Post podcast (h/t Jonathan Sherman of AhnFireDigital.com), people "in the league ecosystem" are "chattering" about the possibility of Rivers getting fired if things don't turn around soon.

While the Sixers have performed well below expectations thus far, Lowe admitted that he isn't sure how much of the chatter is reality and how much is pure speculation.

The 61-year-old Rivers is in the midst of his third season as head coach of the 76ers, and he has compiled an overall record of 101-58 with two playoff appearances thus far.

Philly hired Rivers in hopes of getting over the hump after struggling to get past the second round of the playoffs, but the issue has remained the same, as the Sixers were eliminated in the second round in each of Rivers' first two seasons at the helm.

Two years ago, the 76ers were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 49-23 record, but they were shocked by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round. Last season's second-round exit came at the hands of the Miami Heat in six games.

Despite their playoff shortcomings, the Sixers entered this season as a team expected to contend for an NBA Finals appearance and perhaps even a championship.

Key players like Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey returned from last year's team, as did perennial All-Star guard James Harden, who signed a new contract with the Sixers in free agency.

The 76ers also added some quality depth pieces in the form of De'Anthony Melton, P.J. Tucker, Montrezl Harrell and Danuel House.

For whatever reason, the team has not jelled as quickly as hoped. Their only win came against the Indiana Pacers, and three of their four losses have been by at least nine points.

Since first becoming an NBA head coach in 1999 with the Orlando Magic, Rivers has posted a 1,044-739 record and has been nearly automatic when it comes to leading his teams to the playoffs.

In 23 seasons with the Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Sixers prior to this season, Rivers-led teams had qualified for the playoffs 18 times.

Included in those 18 playoff trips are two NBA Finals appearances and one NBA championship as head coach of the Celtics.

Rivers has not made it past the second round of the playoffs since the 2011-12 season, though, and it is fair to wonder if the Sixers' potential may be capped with him at the helm.

Given all Rivers has accomplished during his career, he may be given some leash to right the ship, but the Sixers can't afford to let things get away from them too much and potentially squander one of the NBA's most talented rosters.

Kyrie Irving is tired of the negative discourse surrounding Brooklyn Nets teammate Ben Simmons.

"You guys keep coming in here, asking me, like, 'What about Ben?' He hasn't played in two years," the point guard told reporters following Wednesday's 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. "Give him a f--king chance. We stay on his s--t. You just stay on him. But we're here to give him positive affirmations."

Simmons was always going to be under the spotlight this season.

After all, the last time he was on the court before this season was the 2021 NBA playoffs when he was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers lost in the second round to the Atlanta Hawks, and he infamously drew plenty of criticism for passing up a dunk and scoring just five points in the Game 7 loss.

The LSU product then missed the entire 2021-22 season and was traded to the Nets as part of the deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia.

It hasn't exactly been great for Simmons as he continues to shake off the rust.

Wednesday was the fourth game he has played this season, and he has 21 total points to 18 fouls. He fouled out of two different contests and is just 3-of-9 from the free-throw line. He missed the only three-pointer he attempted and has seemed like more of a role player than a three-time All-Star at times.

Brooklyn is also 1-3 in the games he has played.

It hasn't been all bad, as he is facilitating with 7.5 assists per game while playing solid defense at times. His play on that end of the court will be key as the season progresses, considering Durant and Irving can handle most of the scoring responsibilities.

Yet the scrutiny will still be there, even if Irving wants commentators and fans to give Simmons more of a chance to prove himself on the Nets. If he continues to foul at almost the same rate he is scoring points, it isn't going to go anywhere.

Ben Simmons' first season playing for the Brooklyn Nets has gotten off to a rocky start. And his head coach, Steve Nash, thinks he just needs to reinsert some "joy" into his game.

"For me, it's trying to take the risk off the table," he told reporters Wednesday. "I'm not expecting him to be 100 percent in the short term, but I want him to try to find that [joy]."

There was always going to be an adjustment period for Simmons after missing out on the entire 2021-22 season and transitioning to new teammates and a new scheme in Brooklyn. A bit of rust was to be expected.

But Simmons has been rougher than anticipated, fouling out of two of the team's first three games while attempting just 4.3 shots per game. The result has been a meager 5.7 points per contest, though he has added 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Ja Morant baited Ben Simmons into fouling out 🧠 pic.twitter.com/QZTCci9Z8M

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 25, 2022

Offensive aggression was an issue for Simmons in Philadelphia, where he was a fantastic playmaker and elite defender but often didn't consistently impact games with his own scoring. That, at least partially, was a byproduct of his unwillingness to shoot from the perimeter.

But Simmons would also go long stretches without attacking the basket, a bit of a head-scratcher given his size and elite athleticism. Some of those concerns have been apparent to start this season, too.

The power forward has acknowledged that he hasn't been great thus far in Brooklyn.

"There's gonna be times where it's really ugly, like the other night for me," Simmons told reporters Wednesday. "I've had a couple of games I was playing like s--t."

And in his defense, adjusting to a new roster—especially one with Nic Claxton, a non-spacing center, in the starting lineup—will take some time.

The worst lineup in the NBA so far this season, minimum 35 minutes played:

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Royce O’Neale

OFF: 95.9
DEF: 126.3
NET: -30.4 (!!!!)

— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) October 25, 2022

Running three 7-footers out there doesn’t have enough quickness defensively and rewards opponents for attacking the glass with impunity because there isn’t a threat of high-powers transition offense

— Ben Detrick (@bdetrick) October 25, 2022

The Nets are a team loaded with talent, but after a 1-2 start, there are obvious concerns. Given all of the drama of the offseason, with the uncertain futures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, any struggles are going to be magnified and dissected.

That looming context makes Simmons' awkward start to his Nets tenure all the more fascinating to monitor.

The NBA fined Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri $35,000 for his actions during his team's loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday.

The NBA announced the fine Wednesday, noting Ujiri was fined "for approaching the scorer's table and directing inappropriate remarks toward a game official."

Miami won the game 112-109 with Jimmy Butler leading the way for the victors with 24 points, five assists and four rebounds. Pascal Siakam also stuffed the stat sheet for Toronto with 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Yet the contest stood out for much more than the result, as Toronto's Christian Koloko and Miami's Caleb Martin were each ejected in the third quarter. They were battling for position for a rebound, and Martin was called for a foul as Koloko went to the ground.

They became tangled with each other and even ended up in the seats. Officials stopped the game to review the play after players from both sides came over to the altercation.

"I just stood up for myself and I get ejected," Koloko told reporters. "That's what happened."

Eric Koreen of The Athletic reported it wasn't clear if Ujiri's comments to the official were related to the scuffle.

The NBA issued punishments, suspending Martin and teammate Nikola Jovic for one game and fining Koloko $15,000. Jovic was suspended for leaving the bench area.

Toronto enacted some revenge and defeated Miami 98-90 in Monday's rematch behind 24 points and nine assists from Fred VanVleet.

As for Ujiri, he has been with the Raptors since 2013 and helped build the roster that won the championship in the 2018-19 campaign. He was with the Denver Nuggets before joining Toronto and won the NBA Executive of the Year in his final year with the Western Conference franchise.

Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams has been suspended one game without pay for making contact with an official during Tuesday's 120-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Per an official announcement from the NBA, Williams' suspension is for "recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official" prompting him to receive a technical foul and be ejected from the game in the fourth quarter.

The following was released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/52Bh8RfBSt

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 26, 2022

There were back-to-back plays early in the fourth quarter when Williams was called for a charge when the Celtics had the ball and a blocking foul when Zach LaVeine was attempting to drive to the basket.

After being whistled for the defensive foul, Williams immediately got to his feet and the side of his body made contact with the official. The contact didn't appear to be intentional, but he was called for a technical foul and ejected.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla was also tossed from the game in the third quarter. Nikola Vučević took exception to being called for a foul against Jaylen Brown, including acting like he was going to slam the ball onto the court, but the officials allowed it to go without giving him a technical.

Mazzulla was unhappy about the no-call and received a double-technical foul while making his case to the officials.

The ejections for Williams and Mazzulla were part of a disappointing night for the Celtics. The defending Eastern Conference champions were off to a fantastic 3-0 start, including wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.

It looked early on like the Celtics were going to cruise to an easy victory against the Bulls. They started the game on a 12-0 run and led by as many as 19 points in the first quarter.

Chicago flipped the script in the second quarter with a 35-15 scoring advantage to take an 11-point lead into halftime. The Celtics were held to 48 points in the second half to take their first loss of the season.

Williams, who averaged 12.7 points in the first three games, was held scoreless on three field-goal attempts in 18 minutes on Wednesday.

The Celtics will play Friday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden without Williams.

Ben Simmons has had a rough start to the 2022-23 season, fouling out of two of his first three games and generally struggling to find any sort of scoring rhythm.

He acknowledged Wednesday that it hasn't been pretty.

"There's gonna be times where it's really ugly, like the other night for me," Simmons told reporters. "I've had a couple of games I was playing like s--t."

To start the season, Simmons is averaging just 5.7 points and attempting only 4.3 shots per game, though he has added 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per contest.

And while he provides excellent and versatile defense, the biggest concern has been his inability to finish games due to fouling out.

His own frustration boiled over in his postgame comments following Monday's 134-124 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, in which he fouled out with 3:52 remaining in the game after making contact with Ja Morant as he picked up the ball after letting it run on the floor.

Simmons told reporters:

"I just saw the play. It wasn't a foul. [Official J.T. Orr] called it a foul, made a mistake, it is what it is ... it's really frustrating ... it's not a foul, but it was bulls--t. It's frustrating because it's late game, fourth quarter, it's a physical, close game. It's the NBA. It's not college. It's not high school. Some people are going to get hit, some people bleed; it's basketball."

Morant, to his credit, said he baited Simmons into getting the foul:

"If y'all want to go dig up a play, I think my rookie year I was in Philly—and the same situation happened like that versus Ben in the first half. I went to look at coach to get the play, and [Simmons] ran through the ball, got the steal and went to dunk. ... I knew it at that moment. Once I seen him and I was rolling the ball and I was at half [court], I looked at coach and I see him try to like, 'Oh yeah.' So I knew I had him. He was going to press up, and I was just going to force the ref to make the call."

As for Simmons, some rust is to be expected after he didn't play at all last season, the second full campaign he's missed in his career.

He's also playing with a new team after spending the entirety of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers before last season's trade, and there are some questions as to whether pairing him with a center such as Nic Claxton in the starting lineup—who offers no floor-spacing, similar to Simmons—is an ideal way to maximize his ability.

Regardless, Simmons needs to be better. He at least recognizes as much.

The New York Knicks have picked up the $6.8 million team option in the rookie contract of power forward Obi Toppin for the 2023-24 NBA season.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news ahead of Wednesday night's game between the Knicks and Charlotte Hornets at Madison Square Garden.

Toppin has averaged 6.8 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 52.2 percent from the field across 137 career games. He has per-game averages of 9.3 points and 3.7 boards during the early stages this season.

The New York City native enjoyed a monster 2019-20 season at Dayton, winning the Wooden and Naismith Awards as the national player of the year and earning consensus First Team All-American honors.

That success led the Knicks to select him with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, but he's yet to reach expectations in the NBA. He's finished with a negative Raptor in each of his first two seasons, a FiveThirtyEight metric that measures a player's overall impact.

It's prevented him from earning a consistent role in the team's rotation, a trend that's continued in the early stages this season as he's playing just 16 minutes per game.

That hasn't come as a surprise, as Toppin discussed the expected lack of playing time back in September when training camp opened.

"Not a lot of people in this position, so that's all we can do is have fun," Toppin told reporters. "Coach [Tom Thibodeau] controls all that, and we're here. I'm ready whenever my name is called, just like every other player. So, whenever my name is called, I'm gonna try to give it 110 [percent] every day."

Despite the limited role, the Knicks' decision to pick up the fourth-year option isn't shocking given the team-friendly salary.

The tougher call will come when New York has to choose whether to make a $9.2 million qualifying offer that would come with a $20.4 million salary-cap hold for 2024-25, per Spotrac.

Thibodeau is under pressure to coach the Knicks to a bounce-back season, so he's going to stick with the players he trusts, and recent history suggests that doesn't bode well for Toppin trying to earn a more high-volume role.

If New York struggles and a coaching change takes place, that would likely be the 24-year-old forward's chance to break through. Otherwise, he may have to wait until he changes teams for that shot at putting together a breakout year.

The Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young, Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey have all expressed interest in playing for Team USA in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup next summer.

Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported Tuesday all three stars confirmed their desire to help the American squad bounce back from a disappointing seventh-place finish at the 2019 World Cup while also using the tournament to help bolster their chances of being chosen for the 2024 Summer Olympics roster.

"Yes, I'm definitely open to it," Young told Vardon. "I mean, even since I was in high school, it's been my dream as a basketball player. I've tried out multiple times since I've been in high school. There's been a couple of times when I could have been on that team, and it kind of hurt my heart."

Team USA manager director Grant Hill and head coach Steve Kerr have decided to abandon the program's previous desire to get NBA stars to make a commitment to play back-to-back summers, first for the World Cup and then the Olympics, per Vardon.

Instead, they'll take each tournament individually and build out the best possible roster from the players willing to make the offseason trip.

The 2023 World Cup is being split between Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, while the 2024 Olympics are taking place in Paris. The 2021 Olympics were in Tokyo.

Team USA management is cognizant of the travel demands of that many overseas trips following the long NBA seasons and understand players may not want to make a full-time annual summer commitment.

"I've never gotten the opportunity to do a World Cup," Beal told Vardon. "As long as I'm healthy, injury-free, and there's a place for me on the team, yeah, I'll probably be there in the Philippines."

Maxey added: "I would love to play for the country. That would be cool. It's always a blessing to represent your country, play with different guys, and go out there and compete."

It will likely create a situation in which the World Cup team is filled with players who may end up on the Olympic roster fringe, depending on whether LeBron James, Stephen Curry and the rest of the American superstars opt to play in Paris.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen told Vardon he's yet to hear from Team USA officials, but he'd also “take a lot of pride in representing us on a stage in front of the world.”

"I understand that there's not a lot of traditional bigs like that in America, like the back-down bigs," Allen said. "Even I'm not even really like that typical, I guess, European basketball big in terms of just banging down there. But I'm here to fill a role, whatever they need, and I feel like I can fit into any role."

Finding centers who can fit the more European play style often on display in major international tournaments has been an issue for the Americans in recent years, but Allen's defensive prowess could bring a lot of value.

A lot of factors will come into play when building the roster, including what teams make deep runs in the NBA playoffs and which players are dealing with nagging injuries they will want the summer to rest, but the early buy-in sounds promising for Team USA.

The 2023 World Cup is scheduled to tip off on Aug. 25.