Nets vs. 76ers: Steve Nash hopes Ben Simmons 'enjoys the experience' getting booed by fans in return to Philly

 

Ben Simmons is going to receive an absolute avalanche of boos from Philadelphia 76ers fans on Thursday, and Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash wants him to have fun with it. 

"I hope he enjoys it," Nash told reporters after shootaround, via 94WIP's Howard Eskin. "How many people get to go in an arena and get booed by the entire place? I had it done to me and I thought it was a privilege. So I hope he enjoys the experience." 

Nash was booed by home fans early in his Dallas Mavericks tenure, but he hasn't exactly described that as a privilege. He was cheered when he went back to Dallas as a member of the Phoenix Suns, and he received a mixture of cheers and boos when he returned to Phoenix as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Anyway, back to Simmons: "His future is in Brooklyn," Nash said. "And Philly has moved on. And it's a basketball game, so let's go out there and enjoy it."

Nash added: "It's a part of the process, right? You leave one team, you go to another. Whether it was as kind of eventful as this situation or not, always it's a little awkward when you go back to your old team and play. I've been there, and I think it is a part of the process, just kind of ... getting that out of the way, going back, having everyone see you again and you see them. And from then on, everything dissipates game by game."

Given that Simmons asked to be traded last offseason, didn't suit up for the Sixers this season and won't actually be playing on Thursday, it will be some time before the bad feelings dissipate. Simmons is with the Nets in Philadelphia, but is out because of back soreness. He has yet to make his Brooklyn debut. 

"He's just been trying to get into a position where we're safe for the long haul," Nash said. "There was a little flare-up. He's progressing nicely. There's definitely light at the end of the tunnel there, but he's not ready to play right now."

The Nets enter the game 33-33 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors. To avoid the play-in, they would have to go on a massive run in the final 16 games of the season -- the sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers are 38-27, 5.5 games ahead of Brooklyn in the standings. 

Another note on the Philly matchup: It is one of six remaining away games on the Nets' schedule, and the final one is against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Unless Kyrie Irving gets vaccinated against COVID-19 or New York City regulations change, Irving will only be eligible to play in four more regular-season games after this one.