Nets' Ben Simmons: Back surgery scheduled for Thursday
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The Nets announced Wednesday that Simmons (back) will undergo surgery on Thursday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
After missing the entire 2021-22 NBA season, Simmons will undergo a microdiscectomy procedure on Thursday intended to alleviate the pain caused by a herniated disc in his back. It was originally thought that Simmons' back issue would not require surgery, but the decision to proceed was ultimately made after the Nets consulted with multiple back specialists and determined it would be best for Simmons' long-term health. The procedure doesn't seem to be particularly invasive, so if all goes well, Simmons should make a full recovery well before the start of the 2022-23 season.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Ruled out for Game 4
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Simmons is listed as out for Monday's Game 4 against the Celtics, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Simmons had been making substantial progress in his rehab and was expected to make his Nets debut Monday, but it appears there has been a chance of plans with Brooklyn now facing elimination. It's unclear if his status will change if the Nets are able to keep their season alive.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Plans to debut in Monday's Game 4
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Simmons (back) plans to make his season debut during Game 4 against the Celtics on Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Simmons' rehab has gone well recently, and he's feeling confident enough in body and mind to step on the court for Game 4, assuming he doesn't suffer a setback. More information regarding potential playing time and role could emerge sometime after Game 3, but it seems unlikely Simmons would step into a true starter's workload immediately after not playing since last year's playoffs. It's not easy to determine where exactly Simmons' minutes will come from, but reduced roles could be in store for any of Kessler Edwards, Andre Drummond, Patty Mills, Goran Dragic or Nicolas Claxton.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Game 4 return 'realistic'
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Simmons' (back) chances of returning for Game 4 against the Celtics are "realistic," Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Simmons hasn't officially been ruled out for Game 3 yet, but that would require some unanticipated fantastic progress. However, it's looking like, surprisingly, Simmons will play this season after all, and that return will most likely come during a high-leverage playoff series. More updates on his progress should emerge in the coming days.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Cleared for contact Monday
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Nets head coach Steve Nash said Tuesday that Simmons (back) has been cleared for contact and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage Monday, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com reports.
Nash said Simmons came through the scrimmage well but only went 5-on-0 during Tuesday's practice to prevent any potential setbacks following his first day of contact. While the 25-year-old is likely still out for Wednesday's Game 2 against Boston, his progress is encouraging and appears to still be on pace for a potential Game 4 debut, as Brian Windhorst reported last week on ESPN's "Get Up." However, whenever he does return, Simmons would almost certainly be subject to a minute restriction.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Ramping up practice activity
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Simmons (back) will begin to face teammates in practice in the coming week, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Simmons' work in practice with the Nets so far had been limited to 1-on-0 drills, but he's been running and shooting without pain recently. He'll take another step in his recovery in hopes that he'll be able to return at some point during Brooklyn's playoff series against the Celtics. The 25-year-old is hopeful that he'll be available as early as Game 4 against Boston, but a better idea of his status will likely come into focus based on how he responds to his increased activity level. Even if he's available at some point during the first round, he'll likely face a hefty minutes restriction.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Eyeing potential Game 4 debut
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Simmons (back) is hopeful to make his Nets debut as early as Game 4 of Brooklyn's first-round playoff series with the Celtics, Brian Windhorst reported Thursday on ESPN's "Get Up." "For seven, eight weeks now I've heard nothing but pessimism on the Ben Simmons front, and that has switched dramatically in the last few days," Windhorst said.
Simmons has been increasing his on-court activity for about two weeks after he was shut down for most of March after requiring an epidural for his sore back. He has yet to advance to 5-on-5 work in practice, but Windhorst notes the the Nets are hopeful Simmons will be able to do that by the end of the week. While 5-on-5 practicing usually marks the final hurdle of the rehab process for players to clear prior to returning from injuries, Simmons' lack of game action since last June means that he'll likely need to complete multiple practices before feeling ready to play. If Simmons is able to meet his goal and is ready to play in Game 4 -- scheduled for April 25 in Brooklyn -- he would almost certainly be subject to a minute restriction.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Ramping up, could debut in Round 1
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Simmons (back) continues to increase his activity and could be ready to make his Nets and season debuts at some point during the first round of the playoffs, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Of course, for Simmons' return to be a possibility, the Nets will have to emerge from the play-in tournament, but they'll be heavily favored to do so, regardless of their final seeding and matchup. Per Charania, Simmons is making progress in strengthening his legs and back, and he's recently ramped up his workload. It's unclear how many more hurdles he'll need to clear before getting the green light to return to full contact, but the Nets are hopeful that they may get the point-forward back at some point during the first round of the playoffs, which tip off next weekend. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN relays that the Nets believe Games 1 and 2 of a potential first-round playoff series would be too soon for Simmons to play, but the 25-year-old might be ready to go when the series would shift to Brooklyn for Game 3.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Likely out for play-in tournament
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The Nets have ruled Simmons (back) out for the remainder of the regular season and don't expect to have him available for the Eastern Conference's play-in tournament, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Speaking about the matter Sunday on "SportsCenter," Wojnarowski said that Simmons continues to be limited to only light shooting work as he rehabs the sore back that required an epidural shot in mid-March. At this point, it's not realistic to expect Simmons to return for the play-in tournament, which begins in just over a week. If he's going to play for the Nets this season, the team will have to qualify for the eight-team playoff field. Should Brooklyn advance out of the play-in tournament, Simmons could make his 2021-22 debut at some point in the first round or thereafter.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Resumes light on-court workouts
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Simmons (back) has resumed light on-court workouts, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
The hope remains that Simmons will be available for the Nets' playoff run, but time is running out for him to ramp up during the regular season. Brooklyn's final game before the play-in is Sunday, April 10 against the Pacers. While it's possible Simmons could return sometime during the playoffs without a regular-season ramp-up, that's a risk given the intensity of competition, stakes and on-court chemistry concerns.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Still no significant progress
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Simmons (back) is yet to progress to any on-court work, Matt Brooks of Nets Daily reports.
Speaking on Simmons pregame Tuesday, coach Steve Nash essentially revealed that the embattled point-forward has not made any tangible progress since receiving an injection in his back earlier this month. Nash confirmed that Simmons is yet to participate in any practices, and he noted that he has not had a follow-up MRI since his last scan a few weeks ago. With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, it's highly unlikely that Simmons makes his Nets debut before the playoffs.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Showing improvement
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Simmons has shown enough improvement in his back that he was able to join the Nets on their road trip this week, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports.
Prior to this road trip, Simmons hadn't been able to fly with the team since late January, so this certainly represents a step in the right direction. However, the point guard still hasn't been cleared to practice and remains without a timetable to return. Simmons received an epidural injection March 15 with the hope that the procedure will help him return to the court by the end of the season.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Recovering from herniated disc
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Simmons, who received an epidural injection last week to relieve soreness in his back, is dealing with a herniated disc and is uncertain to play this season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
As Charania notes, Simmons' back issues have dated back to February 2020, when he was sidelined for a period of time due to a nerve impingement. The Nets will wait and see how Simmons responds to the epidural before deciding his next course of action, but he's looking increasingly unlikely to make his team debut during the regular season, which concludes April 10. Head coach Steve Nash has remained steadfast in his belief that Simmons will play in 2021-22, but if that happens, Brooklyn may need to make a playoff run. Even if the epidural successfully alleviates Simmons' back soreness and he's cleared to resume basketball-related activities in the next few days, he'll still likely require at least a week or two of practice time to advance to full-contact, 5-on-5 work in addition to getting himself in game shape.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Gets epidural for back issue
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Simmons (back) got an epidural while the Nets were in Orlando with the hopes that it will improve his back pain and allow him to do more moving forward, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com reports. It's possible he may return for a "couple" of regular-season games.
It's tough to gauge if this is good or bad news for fantasy managers. It's not great that Simmons is in so much pain that an epidural became an option, but the upside is that he starts feeling better and can play before the end of the season. There still remains no timetable for his return to the practice floor, and he'll likely be re-evaluated in a few days.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Still no timeline for debut
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Head coach Steve Nash said Tuesday that Simmons (back) that he has "extremely high hopes" the three-time All-Star will make his Nets debut before the end of the regular season, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com reports. "He's just doing his rehab, strengthening," Nash said of Simmons. "We're still doing that side of things rather than court work right now."
Following Tuesday's game in Orlando, the Nets have just 13 games remaining in the regular season, and Simmons sounds like he'll miss at least a handful of them while he continues what's been a prolonged reconditioning process that was further slowed down by a bout with back soreness. Since Simmons has yet to advance to any on-court activity beyond individual work, fantasy managers continuing to hold him shouldn't count on him debuting for at least another week, and there's a strong possibility that his absence stretches into April if he's not able to resume practicing within the next few days. For those in the midst of fantasy playoff matchups, Simmons is becoming increasingly difficult to justify holding in redraft leagues.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Joining team in Philly, won't play
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Head coach Steve Nash confirmed Simmons (back) will rejoin the team in Philadelphia ahead of Thursday's matchup with the 76ers, though Simmons won't play in the game and remains without a clear timeline to make his Nets debut, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com reports. "He's on our team, he needs to be with his teammates and get the whole Philly thing out of the way a little bit," Nash said, acknowledging that he expects Simmons to receive a cold reception from the 76ers' fans. "Maybe it never goes away, but the first time it's always nice to kind of deal with it and move on."
Simmons hasn't practiced since first experiencing back soreness a week and a half ago and is likely several more games away from making his team debut, but Nash believes that having the 25-year-old on the bench in what is expected to be a hostile atmosphere in Philadelphia will help him get one potential psychological hurdle out of the way despite not actually playing. The Nets aren't scheduled to practice again until Saturday, and though Simmons hasn't been ruled out from participating in that session in some capacity, Nash noted that Simmons won't immediately go into 5-on-5 drills. Instead, Simmons is expected to ramp up gradually for full-contact, full-court work while he looks to move past the back injury and regain conditioning after having not played all season.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Remains out, but will travel
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Nets head coach Steve Nash said Sunday that Simmons (back) will rejoin the team ahead of the final two games of its current road trip, but the 25-year-old remains without a timeline to make his Brooklyn debut, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports.
Simmons didn't join the Nets in Boston for the start of the three-game road trip Sunday, but he apparently plans to be in attendance for the games Tuesday in Charlotte and Thursday in his former stomping grounds of Philadelphia. While the fact that Simmons is traveling may seem like a positive development, Nash provided no indication that the three-time All-Star will be ready to practice by the end of the week while he continues to contend with back soreness. Until he's back practicing fully with Brooklyn, Simmons' team debut shouldn't be viewed as imminent.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: GM not banking on quick return
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Nets general manager Sean Marks confirmed Thursday that Simmons (back) remains without a timeline to make his season debut, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports. "Unfortunately his back stiffness has delayed his ability to get on the floor with his teammates," Marks said, adding that he's hopeful that Simmons will be a full participant in practice in the coming weeks.
Marks' comments about Simmons' situation more or less align with multiple reports from the past few days that suggested the three-time All-Star is week-to-week after he recently experienced back soreness during his reconditioning process following his trade from Philadelphia. The fact that Simmons isn't practicing in any capacity this week suggests that his absence will likely linger until at least the end of March, if not the early part of April. With the fantasy playoffs already underway or set to begin next week in many leagues, managers in redraft formats may be best off cutting Simmons loose in favor of a player who can contribute now.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: May not play in March
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Simmons' (back) agent, Rich Paul, told Brian Windhorst of ESPN on Tuesday that his client is considered "week-to-week" and isn't considered to be close to making his Nets debut. "I don't even know if he's going to be back in March," Windhorst said during his TV appearance on ESPN's "SportsNation."
Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news last week that Simmons has been experiencing back soreness during his reconditioning process, which has delayed Brooklyn's timeline for getting him back up to game speed. However, Nets head coach Steve Nash was adamant that the back issues wouldn't be "a long-term thing," even though Simmons isn't practicing in any capacity for at least this week. Regardless, fantasy managers should remain skeptical moving forward, as it appears that the most optimistic scenario is Simmons returning shortly before the postseason.
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Nets' Ben Simmons: Managing sore back, debut TBA
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Simmons has experienced back soreness during his reconditioning process since joining the Nets last week and is without a definitive timeline for making his Brooklyn debut, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
While head coach Steve Nash said that Simmons' back issue "[isn't] a long-term thing," it's yet another obstacle that the three-time All-Star will have to overcome before suiting up for the Nets. According to NetsDaily.com, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported during his television appearance Saturday that the Nets won't have Simmons make his Brooklyn debut against the 76ers on March 10, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect the 25-year-old to play before that date.
