NEW YORK — Nets head coach Steve Nash says there’s no updated timetable for the injured Ben Simmons to make his season debut, even though reports to the contrary surfaced in recent days.
The Athletic’s NBA newsbreaker, Shams Charania, reported on Sirius XM’s “The Pat McAfee Show” that Simmons, who has been hampered by a herniated disk in his lower back, could make his debut as soon as Game 3 in the Nets’ first-round playoff matchup, potentially against the Boston Celtics if they win Tuesday night’s Play-In Tournament game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nash pleaded ignorance to the reports and said nothing has changed with regard to Simmons.
“I don’t know where these reports come from,” Nash said ahead of tipoff on Tuesday. “We have no update on the timetable so I don’t think that came from us.”
Nash, however, also said the Nets would not trade James Harden (both in the days leading up to the deal and on the morning of the day the team announced the deal had been completed). Charania, on the other hand, reported the Harden deal materializing several days before it happened.
“If the Nets win tonight [against the Cavaliers], they play Boston this weekend,” Charania said. “I think Games 1 and 2 in Boston is too quick, but I definitely think after that is when the window for Ben Simmons to return starts opening up, and even if he’s able to give them 15 minutes, 20 minutes, Pat, that’s a game-changer because that’s a guy you can automatically put on the other team’s best player, he can move the ball, he can rebound, a lot can happen. So that is a potential game-changer if Ben Simmons returns.
“I’m told he’s very, very confident he’ll be back.”
On one hand, it’s difficult to envision Simmons, who was bound to the rehab table and labeled “the mystery guy” by teammate Andre Drummond only two weeks ago, as fully healthy for a first-round series that starts this weekend. Simmons, according to Nash, is now shooting and “starting to move a little bit on the court” in individual workouts. Nash said Simmons has had far more significant rehab progress in the last week than the first three weeks after he received an epidural to alleviate pain in his lower back.
“So definitely positive signs that it’s improving and moving and all those things,” Nash said. “But, like I said, he hasn’t been running full speed or playing against anybody, so still a lot more markers to meet.”
On the other hand, the Nets have historically been coy with their injury diagnoses. They played a game of cat and mouse with Joe Harris’ ankle injury, a severe sprain that required two surgeries and ultimately ended his season. And Nash didn’t mention that Simmons underwent an MRI that revealed the herniated disk until weeks after he got the scan.
The Nets could be underpromising Simmons’ return only to over-deliver on a healthier version of the star who has been absent all season. That would be difficult to sell, however, because Simmons still looks limited in warmups, and even though he’s been more visible in recent practices and pregame workouts, he still has not run at full speed since the back problems flared up in March.
“In a sense, every time he moves a little more that is in a sense conditioning,” Nash said. “But I wouldn’t say he’s doing wind sprints or things like that.”
There’s also the risk associated with a decision to rush Simmons onto the floor. Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. is battling back issues amid a breakout stretch of his early career. Simmons can’t afford another significant back injury. His troubles started with a nerve impingement in February 2020 and have resurfaced this season.
The Nets’ performance team also requires three high-intensity workouts in practice without a setback before clearing a player as eligible to play in a game. Simmons is still doing individual work and has to advance to one-on-one, two-on-two and eventually five-on-five. Nash said on April 4 it would be unlikely the team forgoes the high-intensity workout requirement “because of the deficit he’s coming out of. If he had played 65 games, this year and we’re going into the playoffs, and he had a few weeks injury, maybe, but I think in this situation, you know, we’ve got to put his health and safety first and make sure that we’re certain he’s ready to play and contribute.”
There’s no denying, however, that adding Simmons to an already star-studded Nets team makes this team even more of a championship favorite than they already are. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, a perennial candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, he ranks top 20 in steals, rebounds assists and field-goal percentage almost every season and is one of the most athletic players at his position when fully healthy.
Despite their standing as a Play-In Tournament team, the Nets remained the team with the third-highest odds to win it all this season behind the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks as of Tuesday morning, according to Odds Shark.
Those odds project to increase if Simmons is on the floor with his teammates.
