The Nets are going to need a lot to survive the loss of Kevin Durant, a lot from everybody on the roster. 

From Ben Simmons, they have to get more force. Not as in forcing shots, jacking up ill-advised attempts. No, force as in attacking on offense. Then attacking on defense. Then doing it again and again. 

“So the next step is to play every possession with force. The beginning of a possession all the way to the end of it,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “So that becomes a habit that you consistently [do] from possession-to-possession and game-to-game. So the pace that he’s going to create for us, the easy shots that he has to create for us because of the pace, it’s a necessity. And looking forward to it.” 

The Nets haven’t really got it, at least not to the level they’re going to need with Durant sidelined for the next few weeks with a sprained MCL. 

Simmons had the second scoreless game of the season in Thursday’s loss to Boston, their first game since Durant’s injury. And while nobody is pressuring Simmons to have an epiphany and suddenly become a scorer, the Nets do need him to score more and drive more, if only to create for others. 

“I wouldn’t call it pressure, I’d just say it’s something I need to do to help this team,” said Simmons, who had 13 assists against the Celtics but just three shots — all misses. He admits the way the roster sits minus Durant, he needs to give the ball up less and attack the rim more. 

“Playing with a lot of guys who are able to catch-and-shoot, so just know who I’m playing with and what tempo we need to play with. [That’s] being assertive, being aggressive, knowing that my teammates [need me]. I think I’m giving the ball up way too many times when I know who I am. I know I need to get to the rim and get buckets. And that’s also going to help my teammates and get them going.” 

It’s unreasonable to expect much more than what Kyrie Irving has given Brooklyn, being spectacular all season. He and Durant make bad shots look good, but the Nets know their shot profile is going to have to change. 

“Do we want to shoot more 3s probably from the individuals who are high level 3-point shooters? Yes,” Vaughn admits. “That goes back to creating shots for other guys, our ability to drive-and-kick more.” 

While Irving can create his own looks, and Seth Curry to a lesser extent, Royce O’Neale, Yuta Watanabe and Joe Harris will need clean catch-and-shoot looks. That means they’ll need Simmons to get into the paint. 

“He’s just got to be himself. We’re not gonna put too much pressure on him,” Irving said. “When he gets his opportunities, we just want him to be aggressive.” 

But Simmons hasn’t been himself. 

His pace is a career-low, and he’s averaging just 3.3 drives this season. Simmons’ four healthy years in Philadelphia saw averages of 10.2, 11.9, 9.9 and 15.5. 

Simmons will also have to take on some of the rim-protection duty that Durant shouldered helping Nic Claxton. But his force will have to show up on offense as well, not so much more but more often. 

“It’s inconsistent,” Vaughn admitted. “Take the beginning of the New Orleans game. First, he picked CJ McCollum up full court; that’s the defensive force. Then you go to the offensive force. He gets the ball swung back to him, he drives [on Jonas] Valanciunas right hand; that’s playing with force. He gets downhill, [pushes] the pace at [Trey] Murphy for a finish. That’s playing with force. 

“He gets a crossover, post-up dribble, he draws two defenders to him. He sprays it out to [O’Neale] for a corner trey. That’s playing with force. Now, that was the first six minutes. Can you do it at the 18-minute mark? The 24-minute mark? The 40-minute mark? So that’s the progression … you’re seeing it, but can you consistently see it? Because we definitely need that with [Durant] out.”