Ben Simmons didn’t even get halfway to his magic number.
As the Nets struggled Sunday through their worst offensive game of the young season, their highest-paid player attempted just four shots in 25 minutes during a 106-92 loss to the Pistons at Barclays Center.
“I want him to shoot more than that,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “My goal for him is 10. He has to find a way to get there. He hasn’t gotten there yet, but I know he can.”
The oft-injured Simmons contributed team highs of six rebounds and six assists but was not attacking the basket as Cam Johnson (26 points) and Cam Thomas (17) didn’t have a third wheel to pick up the slack when their shooting went cold.
Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder, Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams all took more shots than Simmons, whose season high in field-goal attempts is five.
“He is physically getting where he’s supposed to be, and those attempts need to go up,” Fernandez said. “Because then we are all going to benefit from it. I don’t care about makes-misses. I just want…
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