TORONTO — Kevin Ollie had some decisions to make in his debut as the Nets’ interim head coach and a couple of them could raise eyebrows. 

In his first game since replacing the fired Jacque Vaughn, Ollie started Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton and Ben Simmons for the 121-93 defeat, giving Simmons a mandate to attack the rim more. 

That meant Cam Johnson — who just inked a four-year, $94.5 million extension — came off the bench.

His only other reserve appearance was in the final game before the All-Star break, but that came on a minutes limit after missing the prior four due to an adductor injury. 

Dennis Schröder also came off the bench in his return to Toronto.

He had four points and finished a minus-30. 

The point guard has gone through a whirlwind, acquired at the trade deadline, flying back to Canada during the break to see his family, going to Germany to visit his mother and longtime doctor, and finally missing Wednesday’s practice. 

“Yeah, yeah, Dennis. I imagine there’s some things there, he missed a practice, we just had two practices, with some personal reasons. So I know that probably was an adjustment, and then coming into a new system. It was Jacque and now me,” said Ollie. “You’ve still got to play hard and play aggressive and I thought he did that. He got in foul trouble, that threw off his rhythm, too.” 

Ollie also gave Simmons a mandate to drive more.

The result was a two point night where he shot just 1 of 2. 

“Yes, it’s all of that. Looking at the rotations, seeing who fits with him, being around him this whole season, understanding what he needs to do, how he needs to space,” said Ollie before the game. “And then it’s also on Ben, taking it to the rim, looking at his gaps and being very aggressive. And we’ve told him that, and I think he’s gonna do that [Thursday]and perform well in the stints that he’s able to play at the point.” 

Taking it to the rim is something Simmons just hasn’t done since his back problems started. 

“Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to push him, and I think he is able to do it and that’s what we don’t continue to allow him to do with the right correct spacing,” Ollie said. “But most of it’s with pace; we know with pace with Ben before he got hurt he was rebounding very well, getting rebounds and pushing the ball. 

“And then when we get in half-court situations, having him play with pace and having us have the right spacing around him is gonna be crucial for him. But when he sees that gap, he’s got to take it to the rim.”