Ben Simmons looks the healthiest he's been in years five games into the 2023-24 season. That's what made it surprising for some Nets fans to see Simmons ruled out with an “injury maintenance” label Saturday versus the Boston Celtics, the second game of a back-to-back for Brooklyn.
However, the Nets are all too familiar with Simmons' injury history. After acquiring him for James Harden at the 2022 deadline, Brooklyn watched its season go down in flames with the three-time All-Star on the bench due to a back injury and mental health issues. Simmons then missed half of 2022-23 while dealing with knee, calf, and back ailments after returning from offseason surgery on a herniated disc.
One of those injuries came on the back end of a back-to-back, leading to an extended absence. While Simmons isn't experiencing any back pain early this year, Brooklyn is taking a cautious approach with an eye on the future.
“It's just injury maintenance for us,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said of Simmons' absence Saturday. “Overall, just assessing where we are this time of the season, with it being a back-to-back. I'm not saying this will continue, but the maintenance is a part of his progression right now for this part of the season.”
Ben Simmons' injury status
Simmons has been among Brooklyn's most productive players to start the season, averaging 7.4 points, 10.0 rebounds (14th in NBA), and 7.2 assists (11th in NBA). The Aussie has taken on a heavy workload after Nic Claxton suffered an ankle sprain in Brooklyn's season opener. He's played 33.5 minutes per game over his last four appearances after averaging 26.3 last season.
However, Vaughn said Simmons' workload didn't factor into the decision to hold him out Saturday, indicating the Nets had the game circled as a rest night from the start.
“I think overall me, Ben and the performance team had this game kind of circled as far as early in the season, the back-to-back that presented itself,” Vaughn said. “So this one was I guess acknowledged at this point in time that it needed to be done. But I have no concern about that and what it looks like going forward.”
Simmons has become a focal point of Brooklyn's new-look offense in the first season of the post-Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving era. The Nets are leading the league in fastbreak points (23.4 per game) with Simmons pushing the pace and spraying to shooters on the perimeter.
Brooklyn will play 12 more back-to-backs this season. Vaughn wouldn't say whether Simmons will miss back-to-backs moving forward but indicated the Nets will continue to monitor his workload as they look to avoid a repeat of last season.
“I think today's game presented (an opportunity) for the maintenance that needed to be assessed for him,” the coach said. “But I don’t have a timetable for when that would change or when the next back-to-back presents itself. We’ll kind of use the opportunity to gain information about how he’s feeling, how the season is going, and just be smart to make sure that he’s comfortable for the rest of the year.”
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