Kyrie Irving lashed out at reporters asking about his Brooklyn Nets teammate Ben Simmons struggling on the court this season.
The Brooklyn Nets have not had the best of starts to life in the 2022/23 regular season. The Brooklyn franchise have lost three of their four opening games of the season, and even though they have had a number of consistent performers – the collective performance has not been enough to help them to a strong start to life this season courtesy of a few individual strugglers.
One of the individual strugglers for the Brooklyn Nets so far this season has been Ben Simmons. Coming back off an injury, the Nets superstar has had a very slow start to his season and has particularly shied away from taking shots, while his defending has been questionable too – and most of these issues were highlighted by the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Bucks on Wednesday.
Simmons had a game where he racked up a meagre 4 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, and was involved in a number of plays that showcased his lack of confidence at the moment. While he got scored on by the indomitable Antetokounmpo more than once, he was hesitant to shoot on more than one occasion – even though teammate Kyrie Irving begged him loudly to get his shot away.
Naturally, the defeat and the performance attracted plenty of criticism for Simmons, but it was Kyrie Irving who came to his teammate’s defense as he addressed the press after the game.
Speaking to the press following the game, Kyrie asked the press to stop getting on his teammate’s back and to “give him a f***ing chance.”
The 2016 NBA champion defended his teammate as he said: “You guys keep coming in here and asking me, ‘What about Ben? What about Ben?’ He hasn’t played in two years. Give him a f***ing chance. … We’re just here to give him positive affirmations.”
Despite his best defense, the negative attention that has been plaguing Simmons can only be dealt with if he returns to his best form – and helps the Nets register a string of wins.
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