Kyrie Irving shouts “Ben shot him” when passing to Ben Simmons under the basket

Who did not expect this?

four games a season, Keri Irving shout at Ben Simmons to hit the ball. The strong suggestion was made on Wednesday during Brooklyn Networksgame against Milwaukee Bucks. With the Nets advancing, 60-50 early in the third quarter, Irving attacked the basket in a transitional period. He found Simmons to his left in the paint and took the ball to his teammate in the backcourt along with a message picked up by broadcast microphones.

“Shoot him, Ben,” Irving declared.

Ben didn’t shoot him. Instead kick it to Kevin Durant At the top of the line 3 points. Then Durant dribbled to the free throw line and pulled to cross.

The play was a success. But the interaction is sure to fuel doubts about whether the Nets group built around Irving, Simmons and Durant can actually succeed.

Simmons does not shoot the ball in Brooklyn

Simmons debuted on Nets this month afterwards disagreement with Philadelphia 76ers led to trade deadline Last season he sent him to Brooklyn. Much feud surrounded Simmons and the team that drafted him by not wanting to shoot the ball, specifically Open layup died In the match losing to Atlanta Hawks.

Four games into his tenure at the Nets, nothing indicates that Simmons is ready to become an option to sign up for Brooklyn. In his first three games, Simmons averaged 5.7 points in 4.3 field goal attempts per game. On Wednesday, he shot 2-for-7 from the field with seven points. The Nets blew their two-digit lead in the second half 110-99 loss To go down to 1-3.

How will internal pressure affect Simmons?

For Simmons’ defense, Wednesday’s bypass shot into the paint wasn’t a draw His infamous decision against the hawks. After getting the pass, he found Giannis Antikonmo Stands between him and the basket, enough to give the NBA’s most trusted scorers pause.

Most notable is Irving’s order to “shoot” him. Simmons pointed to a lack of support From his 76 coaches and teammates amid mental health struggles like Motivation for his commercial request.

The story continues

Irving painted his announcement to Simmons as positive support when asked about him after the match. He was also upset about having to tackle the matter.

How Simmons interprets and responds to Irving’s pressure — and anything else that will surely come when he refuses to shoot — is worth watching. With networks starting from 1-3, it can be hard to get positive.