Once once more, Nets head coach Steve Nash mentioned injured star Ben Simmons remains to be a methods away from making his season debut.
And as soon as once more, a collection of respected stories recommend in any other case.
Quite frankly, nobody is aware of what to imagine because it pertains to Simmons, the 25-year-old Australian All-Star ahead who has been recovering from a herniated disk in his decrease again. Simmons was nonetheless restricted to solely particular person rehab work at Thursday’s apply at Brooklyn’s HSS Training Facility.
“He’s still not working with the group, so to speak,” Nash mentioned after apply. “He’s with the group, watching, observing, taking everything in, but his physical plan is still individual.”
Nets veteran guard Goran Dragic arrived at Nets apply early on Thursday and mentioned Simmons was not on the facility whereas the workforce performed pickup and practiced.
That makes it close to unimaginable to imagine Simmons might be able to take the ground in 11 days, which is the timeline The Athletic’s Shams Charania supplied on Thursday, and much more unimaginable to imagine that Simmons may ramp-up to enjoying five-on-five basketball by the tip of the following, which is what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday morning on “Get Up.”
Both Windhorst and Charania are actually reporting Simmons could make his Nets debut sooner or later after Game 3 of the Nets’ upcoming first-round playoff collection in opposition to the Boston Celtics. Charania gave a particular window between Games 4 and 6 of the collection, which might be someday between April 25 and 29.
“For seven, eight weeks now, I’ve heard nothing but pessimism on the Ben Simmons front, and that has switched dramatically in the last few days,” Windhorst mentioned on ESPN Thursday morning. “So right now I have to report that it is possible we will see Ben Simmons in this series against the Celtics.”
The stories, nevertheless, contradict what Nash has instructed the general public. He mentioned Simmons nonetheless has not began sprinting. Nash mentioned Simmons is doing workouts within the water and has been utilizing the Anti-Gravity AlterG Treadmill, however the star ahead has not progressed past particular person work and must get to one-on-one, two-on-two and finally to five-on-five.
As of Thursday, Nash remained noncommittal as as to if or not he expects to see Simmons on the ground this season. If he returns, the Nets will welcome him with open arms, but when not, they’ll forge forward with out him.
“Yeah, I think that’s it. I mean, it’s up to Ben’s back,” Nash mentioned after apply. “You know, it’s lower than me, any of us aside from his again and the way we may also help that resolve. There’s an opportunity Ben comes again, there’s an opportunity he doesn’t come again.
“So I think for us, we’ve 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.”
Kevin Durant mentioned it’s simpler for him to not anticipate Simmons goes to return any time quickly.
“I’m not putting any pressure on Ben to come out there and hoop,” Durant mentioned after Thursday’s apply. “So I’m not expecting him to do anything but just to get his body right and get healthy as fast as he can. So in my mind, I’m preparing as if we’re playing with the team we have.”
He additionally mentioned he’s not fascinated by what it will seem like with Simmons on the ground alongside the opposite Nets starters.
“We all know what type of player Ben is,” Durant added. “You can put together scenarios in your mind on your own on what it’ll look like, but I’m not gonna go there because we’re just taking it a day at a time.”
Nash, nevertheless, beforehand instructed the Daily News he sees the comparability between Simmons and Golden State Warriors’ star Draymond Green. Nash doubled-down on that comparability on Thursday.
“Absolutely. I think that’s Ben’s brilliance,” he mentioned. “You look at the athlete that he is, the ability to handle and pass, rebound, defend, push and transition. That’s a lot of skills, and a lot of ways that he can affect the game.”
Thinking like that, nevertheless, is placing the cart earlier than the horse, and regardless of stories suggesting Simmons may make a debut within the first spherical, the star ahead has benchmarks he should clear earlier than he can take the ground. Nash has to educate the workforce he has in entrance of him whereas additionally preserving tabs on Simmons’ progress.
“Ben’s a franchise cornerstone, but right now, it’s about supporting him physically and mentally to get back on the floor and coaching the group to put his best foot forward in the first few games of the series at least,” he mentioned. “Internally, we’re not sitting here saying Ben’s returning in this series. We’ll see what happens.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com