Simmons, cleared to have contact

BOSTON – The shooting guard for the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmonswas cleared for contact as he continues to recover from a back injury that has prevented him from playing since he was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers just before the February trade deadline.

Nets head coach Steve Nash ruled Simmons out for Game 2 on Wednesday, but left the door open for Simmons’ return at some point in Brooklyn’s first-round series against the Boston Celtics.

“He’s making progress,” Nash said after Tuesday’s practice. “We will see how he responds and we will see if he can have more contact. [el miércoles]”.

Nash said Simmons’ first day of contact was actually during practice Monday when he was able to play 4-on-4 with some of his teammates.

“So far so good,” Nash said of how Simmons got through practice. “I think he handled yesterday’s activity well.”

Simmons spent much of his post-practice time that the media was able to see Tuesday working with Nets shooting instructor Kyle Korver on his form. Asked specifically if there was a chance Simmons could play in Game 3 on Saturday, Nash didn’t commit to the possibility.

“I couldn’t say anything about it because I’m not even sure how he’s going to get through these weeks,” Nash said. “We also have to consider that it’s a nine-month absence or whatever, so it’s not just like I have a six-week absence, so I think this is a pretty unique scenario. It’s not as linear as maybe the other type of injuries in the season”.

Simmons hasn’t played since last May after requesting a trade from the Sixers in the offseason, citing mental health issues. As for the next possible hurdles to overcome, Nash said being able to play a full 5-on-5 scrimmage probably wouldn’t be possible given how far along the Nets are in the season and the need to give veteran players a break in games. days between games.

“I probably won’t do 5-on-5 because we don’t have 10 guys,” Nash said. “It’s probably going to be 4-on-4 again, so we’re really trying to put him in an environment where he can start to develop and see if he can have contact, see if he can run down the floor, make cuts, rebound, defend, all those things. things. He has to have time on the pitch to do, to see if he can adapt physically and that process is just beginning.”

Tuesday’s practice served more like a walkthrough, with Nash saying Simmons went through some 5-0 drills while making some plays. The Nets star, Kevin Durantsaid he “didn’t really see him blow up or play against anybody,” but noted that he “has been hearing good reports” about Simmons’ progress.

“I didn’t hear any hiccups,” Durant said. “That’s pretty much what you’re looking for [cuando] someone on our team goes through something while playing in the prep groups or in the pre-practice groups if someone gets injured or something. So I haven’t heard anything… He’s probably progressing pretty well, so we’ll see.”