Will the Brooklyn Nets’ Ben Simmons play again this season?
While it may seem like old news, Ben Simmons is still struggling to return to full fitness. Following recent reports, it may just be that he won’t play again this season.
It’s hard not to feel some degree of sympathy for the Nets guard as he continues to fight to return to the court in the wake of knee issues that have plagued him since last month. Given his inconsistent appearances over the last two seasons, the intensity with which his future is being questioned has increased.
Will Ben Simmons play again this season?
According to comments made by Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn, star guard Ben Simmons is still limited to individual work in practice. Vaughn statements bring clarity to a situation which has seen the former 76ers player sidelined since February 15th, as he attempts to recover from soreness in his left knee. To be clear, with just 10 games remaining in the regular season, there is now real doubt as to whether Simmons will be able to play again. On the other hand, Vaughn has claimed that he is not looking so far ahead. Either way, the situation is not ideal.
To date, Simmons’ contribution has been nominal at best with an average of 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game across 42 appearances this season. To be clear, each of those stats are career lows for the 26-year-old Australian. This is of course follows Simmons’ season long absence last year, when he struggled to recover from a chronic back problem. Now in the third year of his five-year, $177 million deal with the Nets, his future is most definitely uncertain at this point.
Jacque Vaughn remains positive about Simmons
If there is a positive, it’s that Vaughn indicated last week that Simmons had not experienced any setbacks on his road to recovery, before adding that he was in fact “progressing.” Further to that the Nets coach also expressed hope for the short term. Just last week “Definitely operate on the belief [that Simmons will play again this season],” Vaughn said. “There’s zero discussions about him not playing. We expect him to be back.”
Be that as it may, the Nets have now lost five straight games following their 116-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night and sit on a record of 40-33. They are sixth in the Eastern Conference, which for the moment is good enough to stay in playoff contention, but rest assured they have little margin for error at this point. The return of Simmons - though he’s been inconsistent - could go a long way toward securing a post season spot.