Ben Simmons has missed the Nets’ last three games with knee pain tied to a left calf strain, and he will be out Wednesday, too, when Brooklyn takes on Charlotte.
However, he plans to return on Friday (Dec. 9) against the Hawks.
Ben Simmons is targeting Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks to come back from his calf strain. Simmons said it’s frustrating because he was starting to turn a corner and play closer to his potential. Said the minutes load and back-to-backs will be monitored. #Nets pic.twitter.com/J84cBv05wq
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) December 6, 2022
Simmons was adjusting to a new role in Brooklyn. In Philadelphia he was a point-forward with the ball in his hands playing off Joel Embiid (at least at first), but in Brooklyn the ball needed to be in the hands of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the halfcourt. Simmons is playing more small-ball five, and is asked to be aggressive and attack when he gets the ball — not shoot jumpers — and to push the rock in transition. It took a while for Simmons to settle into that space, but he seemed to in games against Philadelphia (11 points, 11 assists), Toronto (14 points, six assists) and Indiana (20 points). Then the injuries hit.
Brooklyn sits at 13-12, with a middle-of-the-pack offense and defense for the season. While there are doubts about the ceiling for this team, it has a talent level that should be better than this record, it’s just been beset by injuries, controversy causing Kyrie Irving to miss time, and a coaching change. The Nets have yet to hit their stride.
But they could have a clean injury report on Friday night, and maybe that can be the start of this team getting on a run.