It’s fair to have little optimism that Ben Simmons will play at some point this season. However, the Brooklyn Nets are holding out hope – expecting, even – that their new star will play this campaign.
Simmons didn’t play for the Philadelphia 76ers this season as he awaited a trade, which he eventually got in February when he was sent to the Nets in a blockbuster that brought James Harden to Philly. But Simmons has yet to play in Brooklyn due to a herniated disc in his back, which he received an epidural shot for last week.
The Nets are running out of runway to get Simmons back on the court before the postseason. Still, optimism exists in the organization that he'll return at some point this season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
"He got an epidural shot last week, he’s got a herniated disk in his back,” Charania said Thursday on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “His goal is to play, there’s obviously an uncertainty whether he’ll be able to play, but his goal is to try to figure out a way to get back on the floor.
“Ben Simmons is literally exactly what the Nets need, but they’re going to be cautious. The last thing you want to do, especially with a back injury, is bring him back when he has the disc issue and you rush it. I think they’re going to be cautious with it, but there’s an expectation around the Nets that Ben Simmons will play this year, it's just going to be about him ramping up and feeling healthy. The problem with him is it seems every time he’s gotten back on the floor he’s had something, a flare-up in his back, and so the hope is that now that he had the epidural injection last week, he feels better and hopefully, whether it’s in a week or whatever, gets back on the floor and tries to ramp up.”
The Nets have just nine games left in the regular season, with the finale set for April 10. That’s not a lot of time, and unless Brooklyn is comfortable with Simmons’ first game of the season being in the playoffs, then he’ll really need to start ramping up soon.
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