Last week, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Ben Simmons “resumed light on-court workouts” in the hope of a “potential return” for the playoffs, but did not give any indication about Simmons’ status for the remainder of the regular season at that time.
On Monday, Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash gave the latest official update on Simmons, and said the star guard will not suit up the rest of the regular season or during the play-in tournament.
Ben Simmons did more at practice today, but is still far from playing. Nash ruled him out for the rest of the regular season and the play-in.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) April 4, 2022
At 40-38, the Nets are tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte owns the tiebreaker, though, which pushes the Nets to 10th. They’re a game back of eighth and 2.5 back of seventh. At the moment, Brooklyn would have to win two play-in games to even qualify for the playoffs and open the door for Simmons’ debut.
It’s been an unfortunate season for Simmons. Hopefully, whenever he does take the court, he’s back to full strength and can play like the All-Star we’re accustomed to watching.
The Nets will keep at their playoff push on Tuesday when they welcomes the Houston Rockets to town. They’ll hope to snap a two-game slide and get back on track, aiming to climb into the top eight of the East, where they’d be just one win away from the playoffs.
