Brooklyn Nets big man Ben Simmons is set to miss another extended stretch due to knee soreness. Simmons will miss the next two games after sitting out a five-game stretch earlier this month.
The former number-one pick said Friday that he had blood drained and received a PRP injection in the knee before the All-Star break, a process he also underwent when he missed a four-game stretch in early November. Brooklyn had over a week off during the break. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Simmons reported soreness in the knee after practicing the last two days and will now enter a “strengthening period.”
“We collectively as an organization with Ben, with the performance team, said it was an opportunity to kind of put him in a strengthening phase so that going forward, once he gets the knee strengthened, this isn’t a reoccurrence for us,” Vaughn said. “So that’s the goal of it. That’s kind of the space we’re living in right now. But he did practice the last two days and just reported some soreness after those practices.”
Simmons has already missed 16 games this year due to knee, back, and calf ailments after sitting out all of last season. When he has been on the floor, the 26-year-old has been a shell of his old self, averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists. The glaring lack of production led Simmons to fall out of the starting five upon returning from his latest absence. The three-time All-Star called his injury struggles “frustrating” amid his lack of production this season.
“I’ve been battling it all year,” Ben Simmons said. “I haven’t been 100 percent all year. To me, I just want to be on the court, regardless of what it is and whatever position I have, I’m just trying to give the team what I can.”
Simmons said his knee has no structural issues, giving him hope that he can return to the lineup and contribute in the near future.
“I think it’s just a strength thing and getting it under control,” he said. “It’s a frustrating process already having the back and dealing with it all. It’s just something I have to deal with and it’s taking time. I just have to be consistent with it and stay on top of it. We’re trying to work towards me coming back to being in a place where I can play at a level I can contribute and move.”
The Nets have 24 games remaining in the regular season as they battle to avoid the play-in for the second-straight season. Despite a laundry list of injuries this year, Vaughn offered a quick response when asked if there have been thoughts of shutting Ben Simmons down.
“Zero,” the coach replied. “We’re 24 games from making it into the playoffs and so the thought was we could use the time coming out All-Star break where we didn't play games. And then it's a great time to reassess. Can we take advantage of no games? And then where does that lead us down the road?”
Brooklyn sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference as the league preps for the sprint to the finish line. The Nets return from the break with a two-game lead on the Knicks for the sixth seed. Vaughn's squad will look to extend that cushion with matchups in Chicago and Atlanta this weekend.
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