SAN DIEGO — Entering Nets training camp, much of the talk was about the point guard matchup. Instead, it turns out they have a dual point guard.
After all the questions about who will get the pick between Dennis Schroder and Ben Simmons, both veterans will start together when Brooklyn previews the preseason on Tuesday against the Clippers.
Despite spending much of the open run and early stages of training camp operating separate teams, head coach Jordi Fernandez had them work together in Saturday's practice and Tuesday at Front Wave Arena. We plan to choose to have them do the same practice again.
“They played together, and we're going into the first preseason game with two point guards,” Fernandez said. “So I’m sure you guys will see that.
“It's something that plays around with size right now and gives us a different perspective, but it's not really big and a lot of playmaking and shooting. So it's going to be fun. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch. .”
That's something neither Jacque Vaughn nor Kevin Ollie could have considered last season. Schroder had hoped to play alongside Simmons after arriving from Toronto, but Simmons' injury scuppered those plans.
They played together on the first day of camp, but until Saturday they were on separate teams and mostly separated.
“When I first got here, I played Ben in the first scrimmage,” Schroder said. “We didn't do it too much after that. We competed against each other every practice, but just pushing ourselves and trying to get as many wins as possible was great. But the coaches said we were all together. I started and decided I was going to make the most of it.”
Last season, the duo played just 16 minutes in three games and finished with a minus-four rating. They were hoping for a better synchronized return from the All-Star break, but Simmons had to undergo back surgery after the season.
Over the past two years, the Nets were on a 35-win pace without Simmons and 45 wins with Simmons. Now finally healthy, the Nets are counting on the pair's ability to drive transition.
“He’s got a lot of speed. [fast]” Schroder said when asked what a two-point guard tandem with Simmons would be like. “I mean, he hasn't been healthy the last few years, but when he's healthy, we know what he's capable of. He's an All-Star type of player, so he can push the ball. I'll go. [He’s] Selfless.
“Defensively, he plays with grit, and that's what we need here. So, a lot of speed. He can bring it, I go to the corner. If not, me and him in the pick-and-roll, he sets the screen or I set the screen. I think we can do a lot of things. And we worked on that today. , and we continue to move forward and try to move forward and build. Yes, we continue to work.”
Fernandez did not say whether the Nets' lack of strength was a factor in the combination of Nic Claxton, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dayron Sharpe and Trendon Watford, who all played in the preseason opener.
But when asked about his time with Simmons, he said he wants to see how things work out and doesn't need to already have all the answers. These preseason games should provide him with some of those answers.
“Good, dude. They're both very fast and they're very exciting when they play. They're both trying to find guys running the floor,” Jalen Wilson said. “That's good for me because I want to run the floor and get to the corners and make open shots. And then we have two guys pushing us even harder trying to find us.”
The Nets haven't seen much of Schroder and Simmons together so far in camp. Things will change on Tuesday.
“I haven't seen it in action yet, so I can't say much about it. [how it’ll look]” admitted Noah Clowney. “But having both of them allows us to play off the ball and on the ball. It could be unique in how we utilize that.”
