Ben Simmons being out of the Nets lineup hasn’t impacted the team much, if anything they have been a little better statistically without him. Brooklyn is 3-3 with him and has gone 7-5 without him (including an impressive win over a hot Magic team on Saturday behind 42 points from Mikal Bridges).
The Nets will be without Simmons for at least a couple more weeks, with coach Jacque Vaughn announcing on Saturday that Simmons had an epidural injection in his back and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Here’s how Vaughn described it, quote via Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
“The epidural happened within the course of this week here. It was just a part of his getting back to playing, and that is a part of his treatment, a part of his strengthening that was just a part of his getting back to a position of joining us. No setbacks. Right now he is still doing low-level stuff on the court. So no rebounding drills, no sprinting up the floor. Then, in two weeks, you’ll continue to strengthen it and we’ll have something hopefully for you then.”
Simmons averaged 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds (a career-high), and 6.7 assists per game before the back issues that have sidelined him in the past – he had back surgery in 2022 — flared up again. Simmons was making some plays but his lack of shooting — and not drawing fouls — continued to be an issue.
The Nets have a -5.7 net rating when Simmons is on the court and a +5.2 when he is off this season, although that’s some small sample size theater due to him only playing in six games.
At 10-9, the Nets currently sit as the No. 9 seed and a play-in team in the East.