BOSTON – All-Star forward Ben Simmons participated in pregame workouts ahead of the Nets’ Game 1 loss to the Celtics on Sunday.
Simmons, who has yet to make his debut in Brooklyn after the Feb. 10 James Harden trade because of a lower back injury, looks like he has made significant strides in his mobility, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania continues to report Simmons can make his debut between Games 4 and 6 of the first-round series.
“By the end of the week, the goal is for Ben Simmons to get in some five-on-five and actually get bumped up, get some contact,” Charania said on SiriusXM’s Pat McAfee Show on Monday. “He hasn’t done that yet. He hasn’t done that since June of 2021. Game 4 is next Monday, and I’m told that is the point where we should start looking if Ben Simmons will play or not. The goal is for him to be back between Games 4 and 6.
“I think they are very confident that he’ll be able to make a return as soon as next Monday.”
Simmons went through dribbling drills on the court alongside his fellow Australian Patty Mills. He then assisted Mills through his shooting drills and delivered an onslaught of passes, many of which suggested Simmons’ lower back pain is a thing of the past. Both Charania and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Simmons has been “pain-free” for several weeks and that the Nets will look to begin incorporating him into practice this week.
Simmons ended his pregame workout with a dunk, just three days after demanding reporters record his dunk at the end of Friday’s practice.
Nets head coach Steve Nash has insisted Simmons is not sprinting, but said he is running and doing shooting drills.
“There’s a chance Ben comes back, there’s a chance he doesn’t come back,” head coach Steve Nash said on April 14. “So I think for us we got to focus on the group — support Ben and his journey to get back on the floor, but at the same time we don’t have time to lose focus on the group that’s playing.”
Simmons must still advance from individual workouts to five-on-five work without reinjuring his back. He received an epidural shot on March 13 to alleviate the pain associated with a herniated disk in his lower back. The Nets traditionally require a player returning from injury to complete three high-intensity workouts without a setback before clearing that player for game action. Nash said he doesn’t believe the Nets will waive the high-intensity workout requirement because Simmons not only has a back injury, but he hasn’t played a game since last June.
Either way, the Nets would welcome Simmons with open arms, even more so after the Celtics outrebounded them by 13 in Game 1. Simmons consistently ranked in the Top 20 in rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets could also use his defensive abilities to help limit Jayson Tatum, who scored 31 points and hit the buzzer-beater to win on Sunday.
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