Nets' Steve Nash is confident Ben Simmons will return soon

Could Ben Simmons' long awaited debut finally be close at hand? The Nets' head coach seems to think so

The Nets come good but sweat on Simmons' return

Having now won their last three straight games, it would seem that the The Brooklyn Nets are on the up. What's more is that one of those wins was a sensational 29 point victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Arena. Why is that significant you ask? in two words: Ben Simmons. Indeed many of Philly's faithful were in attendance with the hope of getting an opportunity to boo their former star in what was his first visit to his old arena since his January 10th deadline day trade to Brooklyn. The All-Defensive guard is actually yet to play his first game with Brooklyn as he continues to struggle with back stiffness.

Steven Nash and the Nets are confident about Simmons

While the Nets have given no clear indication as to when Simmons will make his debut, if you ask head coach Steve Nash there is a great deal of confidence that it will be very soon. It is true that Nash also indicated that Simmons would not travel with the team when they visit the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, however, it is understood that Simmons' moment is fast approaching. To add further weight to the expectation, Nets general manager Sean Marks recently stated that they were confident they could soon start ramping up his return to the court.

"Unfortunately his back stiffness has delayed his ability to get on the court with his teammates. so he's been rehabbing this last sort of week to 10 days," Marks said. "And then now he'll progress throughout this week with some individual [work]. Hopefully, by the end of next week he's getting more into the team environment, and then we can really ramp up and start him getting into sort of game shape and so forth. Although there's no real timetable, we've got to take it day by day and see how he responds. And hopefully sooner the better. We need to get this group together and get minutes together on the court."

Ben Simmons doubts aside, the Nets Roll on

Though there is clearly confidence coming out of the Nets' camp the reality is we've been here before. Previously Nash had made comments suggesting that Simmons was well on the way to a return, "He's just doing some light shooting and just physical therapy," Nash said at the time. Indeed the Nets' head coach went on to describe Simmons' back issues as a "little flare-up." That, however, has since proven to be somewhat wide of the mark. It should be noted that in order for Simmons to return he must participate in at least three high-intensity workouts (i.e. full-contact, 5-on-5 scrimmages).

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It is of course not ideal that the Nets still can't count on the services of their newly acquired point guard, but it must be said that the franchise continues to improve. Despite Simmons inability to participate fully in training, the Nets are continuing to win. That of course is a good thing as they look to secure one of the Eastern Conference's play in spots. At the moment they are three games behind the 7th placed Toronto Raptors as they prepare to face the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.