Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, center, watches from the bench as the 76ers trail the Boston Celtics during the second half of Game 7 in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Former 76ers star handles a protracted Brooklyn Nets defeat.
The rival of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets, haven’t had the desired outcome with Ben Simmons. After starting the season fully healthy, Philly’s former first-overall pick is once again dealing with a setback that prolongs his absence. The star guard, Simmons, was reportedly dealing with a back impingement a few weeks ago. This is not uncommon for Simmons, as he experienced a similar setback when he was a member of the 76ers. Simmons was therefore anticipated to miss a few games.
Simmons was supposed to be assessed before possibly returning to resume his 2023–2024 campaign, but instead he had another epidural injection, which resulted in another multi-week absence. Jacque Vaughn, the head coach of the Nets, reportedly told ESPN that the epidural happened “within the course of this week.” Although the head coach clarified that Simmons isn’t necessarily experiencing a setback, many people initially believed his recuperation would take longer than this.
Simmons won’t be gone for just one month. He did not play in a game since November 6, when Brooklyn played the Milwaukee Bucks. Simmons checked in 33 minutes at the time. Even though Simmons had trouble scoring, managing only two points from three shots, he was a dominant presence on the glass, grabbing 15 rebounds. He continued to miss the Nets’ next twelve games.
The three-time All-Star has had trouble staying healthy ever since the Sixers traded Simmons to Brooklyn. After being traded away from the Sixers, Simmons had intended to return to the court for the second half of the 2021–2022 season. However, an injury postponed his Brooklyn debut until the 2022–2023 campaign. Simmons played in 42 games for the Nets in the previous campaign. He had an injury in the middle of February, which kept him out of the playoff series between Brooklyn and the Sixers and the rest of the regular season.
When Simmons plays again for Philly’s division rival is unknown. Simmons was not present when the Nets and Philadelphia met for the first time this season. The Wells Fargo Center will host a rematch between the two teams on February 3. Although Simmons has plenty of time to recover from that, his setbacks have in the past caused him to miss several months at a time.
