Ben Simmons could make his season debut during the latter stages of the Nets’ series against the Celtics, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
After running and shooting pain-free for over a week, Simmons will now scrimmage against teammates in practices. His workouts up until now have been limited to 1-on-0 situations (Twitter links).
The possibility of Simmons taking the court adds even more intrigue into what will likely be the most-watched first round series. ESPN and The Athletic reported on Friday that Simmons was aiming for a return somewhere in the Game 4 to Game 6 range of the series. Game 4 is scheduled for April 25, with the remaining games (if necessary) to be played every other night afterward.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), there’s growing optimism that Simmons could suit up as early as Game 3, which will take place next Saturday, April 23 when the Nets return to Brooklyn.
However, Kevin Durant said on Thursday he’s “not expecting” Simmons to play in the series, stressing that he doesn’t want to place any pressure on the three-time All-Star. Simmons has been rehabbing from a back injury, which has delayed his Nets debut.
Nets lose the series if he plays.
Based upon what genius assumption?
Simmons is becoming a distraction. Not worth his crunch time sitting. The simple fact is Simmons value for 3 quarters of basketball is completely nullified by his inability to be used at crunch time. He cannot hit free throws, will not shoot the rock when challenged to. Useless.
Is it possible though, that he could add something for quarters 1-3, if everyone understands beforehand he won’t play meaningful minutes in the 4th? He’s sure to be on a minutes restriction anyway. And he’s at least been around the team, unlike Kyrie prior to being allowed to play road games, then with/without from game to game.
I’m not hoping he gets injured but I predict that he will. There’s a difference between the intensity of a regular season game and the playoffs. Honestly I just think of the KD and Boogie injuries as a cautionary tale. Different parts of the body, but still. There’s no lull in a playoff game except for blowouts maybe.
This is a fascinating situation. The Nets will have to decide if Simmons can really add net value to the team right now.
Here are thing the team will need to consider:
– He hasn’t played in a year so he’ll be rusty.
– He hasn’t played with his teammates before so there isn’t any chemistry yet.
– He won’t be able to play many minutes until he’s in game shape, which takes some time.
– His shooting issues could impact the flow of the Nets offense in a big way.
His psyche is a real wildcard – will the Nets want to throw him into the playoffs after a year off and after his Phili meltdown?
My guess is that he doesn’t play in this series in any meaningful way but may get a few minutes to start the ramp up process. If the Nets get by Boston (the hottest team in the league), the Nets will continue to slowly integrate him into the rotation.
He is only playing to get playoff money. Then all of a sudden he will hurt his back and be out.. Honestly doesn’t deserve or should be allowed to play.
Why would that matter? He’s on the roster and he’s not suspended. How does that affect his playoff share?
He’s not going to play this round. The dude isn’t interested in playing basketball. He’s a diva.
BRK is gonna whip BOS badly in the series, probably a 4-1 or even a 4-0… having Ben back is gonna be so exciting for BRK, they should at least reach the ECF & probably the the NBA finals with this team!