Ben Simmons injury update: Nets rule star guard out for remainder of regular season and play-in tournament

Simmons has not played this season and is currently dealing with a back injury

The Brooklyn Nets will be without Ben Simmons for the remainder of the regular season and the play-in tournament due to his back injury, head coach Steve Nash said Monday. Simmons has still not played this season, and it remains unclear when or if he'll be back on the court. 

While Simmons has been traveling with the team and has been on the court during shootaround and practice, he has been limited to shooting drills and has not been cleared to start running or making dynamic movements. 

"He's doing some light shooting," Nash said when talking to reporters on Sunday. "He's been on the court a little bit the past couple of days. Nothing dynamic yet. He's not even moving around a lot. Just some light shooting."

It's not clear exactly when Simmons injured his back, but he suffered a herniated disc which eventually required an epidural in late March to relieve pain. That procedure has clearly helped, at least to some extent, but Simmons still has a long ways to go to get back on the court, and the Nets are not going to rush him. 

Per Nash's comments, the earliest we could see Simmons would be the first round of the playoffs, but even that seems unlikely. The first round is set to begin on April 16, which is less than two weeks away. If Simmons hasn't even started running, it's hard to imagine he'll be cleared by then -- especially considering he's dealing with a back problem and hasn't played an NBA game since last June. 

The Nets, of course, have to make it to the playoffs first. They are locked into a play-in tournament spot, and are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. If they cannot jump up into seventh or eighth, they'll have to win two straight play-in games just to secure a playoff spot. 

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the way, you would have to favor them to run that gauntlet if necessary, but there are no guarantees with their injuries and how poor they've been on the defensive side of the ball. They are just 2-4 in their last six games, and have lost to the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks -- two other play-in teams -- during that stretch.