The Brooklyn Nets are in do-or-die territory now. They face an 0-2 hole to the Boston Celtics in their best of seven first-round series. Kevin Durant has struggled from the field. Kyrie Irving had one monster game but then couldn't find his groove in Game 2. Ime Udoka's stifling league-best defense led by 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart will do that to you, but the Nets stars both expect more from themselves.

Now all eyes will turn to Ben Simmons. If the Nets fall into a three-game hole, it'll cast a pale of doubt over the entire James Harden-Ben Simmons trade. Was it prudent to trade for a player who hadn't played since June, and had a preexisting back condition? Well that's a lot of pressure on Simmons to make his return and help the team before it's too late.

We heard from Shams Charania of The Athletic on Thursday that Simmons was focused on making his Nets debut in Game 4, and that was reiterated on Friday. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski also reported similar on Friday.

We haven't heard much from Simmons himself, though. So where does that stand?

At shoot around a day before Game 3, Ben Simmons broke his silence and spoke to the media. He opened up to confirm reports that he's planning on playing Monday in Game 4 but that it will depend on how practice goes.

According to James Herbert, of CBS Sports, Simmons said “it's a good challenge, but I'm looking forward to it, especially playing with these guys.”

Ben Ten admitted he's day-to-day and probably won't play in Game 3. When asked about that point, head coach Steve Nash apparently chuckled. Make of that what you will.

Nick Friedell of ESPN added Simmons said it will depend on how he feels after workouts taking place this weekend.

Some fans and members of the Nets beat are a bit perplexed about the timing. Why can the three-time All-Star play on Monday but not Saturday? The season is on the line and falling in a 3-0 hole to Jayson Tatum and company would be too deep of a hole to climb out of. Can't he play tomorrow? What's going to magically happen on Sunday?

To that point it sounds like it's a bit of a compromise. The Nets are typically very cautious when ramping players returning from injury up to return. Their performance staff requires athletes to pass a series of milestones progressing from individual work, up to 1-on-1, 2-on-2, all the way up to three high intensity practices of full-court five-on-five. Simmons, once he was cleared for contact, skipped several of those steps and progressed right up to four-on-four.

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The team may feel that Simmons needs to at least get in a certain number of the high-intensity workouts before giving him the green light. It's not just about finishing practice. It's seeing how he feels the next day after that type of performance. Does the back tighten up on him over night? Can he do it again in a day or two, like a real playoff sequence? If they can't put him through the full nine, maybe they can put him through most of it, while still maintaining some safety checks.

So these are the type of questions the Nets and their third star are trying to work out. Friedell adds that Simmons does not think he'll need offseason surgery. That's great news if it turns out to be the case.

There's nothing simple or straight forward with disc issues so avoiding going under the knife and the requisite rehab that would entail could mean a smoother off-season for Simmons. Of course, playing playoff hoops for the first time in nearly a full calendar year and defending someone like Tatum will pose some medical risk. He could experience a flare up. Might he need a procedure then if he rushed a comeback? Can he make this thing worse and interfere with his offseason?

It's not a simple situation by any means. Much has been made about Simmons “meltdown” and struggles from the free throw line in the playoffs. The Sixers in 2021 lost a home game seven by seven points. But he was primarily responsible for Trae Young shooting just 5 of 23 from the floor. The Nets can certainly use some of that if they want to knot this series up.