Fans merciless as Ben Simmons exits game after 20 minutes in loss against Detroit Pistons: "He got poked on the nose and it’s left knee soreness?"

Ben Simmons played 20 minutes before leaving for the locker room in the Brooklyn Nets' game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. Simmons exited in the third quarter due to an apparent knee injury, but it's unclear when he suffered the problem.

He has already missed 11 games this season due to several minor injuries. Despite being on the floor for 20 minutes, Simmons was highly unproductive for the Nets. He had zero points, one rebound and seven assists as the Pistons got a 130-122 win.

It was initially thought that Simmons suffered a facial injury after getting hit by Jaden Ivey during a play. However, the Nets later released a statement saying that Simmons was suffering from left knee soreness.

Fans were quick to criticize Ben Simmons, who has had an up-and-down season for the Brooklyn Nets. Simmons has become one of Twitter's favorite players to laugh, hate and take shots at.

It was the second straight game that Simmons had no points after the first two quarters. He finished with 12 points in the Nets' 137-133 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers after going scoreless at the half.

Here are the best reactions on Twitter regarding Simmons' knee injury:

"2 fouls and 0 pts .. makin 30mil"

"Nets lucky they got Seth Curry in that trade for Harden. Otherwise would have just been like cutting James."

"Everyone commenting has the same amount of points tonight as Simmons"

"What? He got poked on the nose and it’s left knee soreness? Trade him"

"Send him to Utah or Detroit already"

"Ben Simmons would not survive in the real world. OMG"

"Too much cardio in the court result into knee soreness. Bum. He is just a role player."

"I'm done with him! He needs to go to G league and build up some confidence!"

"I'm sure there's a psychologist on the payroll. Ben needs to see him daily"

"Amazing how this guy has come to be a non factor in the game. It's like he has lost all his talent. He's nothing now and I mean nothing. What he gets paid is a joke. Should not even be in the nba. Nets should trade him but who would take him?"

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Ben Simmons struggling without Kevin Durant

Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets were one of the hottest teams in the league before Kevin Durant suffered a knee injury on January 8 against the Miami Heat. The Nets are 2-6 since Durant was ruled out for two to four weeks.

While it's understandable that the team will struggle without Durant, Ben Simmons' production has taken a significant hit as well. Kyrie Irving has taken his game to the next level, but Simmons is averaging just 6.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.3 assists over the past eight games.

Some thought that Simmons would have improved his scoring, but he went from averaging 7.7 to 6.0 points per game.

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