Simmons has been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Nuggets due to lower back injury management, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports.
Simmons will get the first night of a back-to-back set off for precautionary reasons, and he's expected to continue sitting out one half of back-to-back sets throughout the season. Nic Claxton is the obvious candidate to replace Simmons in the starting lineup, but the former has been on a minute restriction to start the season following a hamstring injury during training camp. Ziaire Williams, Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson and Shake Milton are also candidates for slightly more minutes in Simmons' absence. Simmons should be back in action for Wednesday's matchup with the Grizzlies.