Although the message issued by Brooklyn has always been one of confidence regarding the return of Ben Simmons this season, the reality is that the point guard is dangerously approaching a blank year.
As we already know, Simmons decided not to play again with Philadelphia to press and be transferred. Such a movement came just coinciding with the closing of the market. Broadly speaking, James Harden was leaving for the Sixers and Simmons was arriving at the Nets. At that time it was assumed that it would take a few weeks for him to be in shape, but the problems he suffered with his back ended up turning into a herniated disc that surrounds his uncertain situation. Well, at least it was like that before, since Steve Nash has clarified that it is already certain that he will not be available until after play-in.
“For now he is not even running. I don’t see it ready. I would be surprised to see it in the play-in”, comments the head coach of New Yorkers with a certain tone of resignation.
Regarding having him back at some point during the playoffs, Nash makes it clear that he has no problem with his debut in the postseason, but clarifies that the fact that he has not played all season is a handicap to speed up his return.
Nash said recently that he would have no problem with Simmons making his debut in a playoff game even if he hadn’t played all year. He also made it clear Monday that the Nets would take every precaution before putting him back on the court.
“If he had played 65 games this year, we qualified for the playoffs, and it turns out that he had an injury for a few weeks, maybe you would think about tightening something in his progression. I think in this situation we have to put his health and safety first to make sure he’s ready to play and contribute. And another thing is that he just hasn’t played basketball, so I don’t know what kind of Ben we’ll have. You know, he hasn’t played an NBA game for nine or ten months,” he explains.
What Nash is not going to do in any case is to establish a calendar. At this point, he knows that all possibilities are open. This answers the question about whether he could be in the first round.
“We’ll see. I don’t want to look too far ahead or walk around for the next five weeks playing guess where you are at. Just today they saw how he is. He’s getting a little bit stronger, doing more mobility stuff and a little bit of shooting; that’s all for now », she sentences.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
