With 13 games to go before the Play-In tournament, we're getting down to the wire. However, the Brooklyn Nets' third All-Star player, Ben Simmons, still has no timetable to join his teammates.

Over the last few games, we've seen Kyrie Irving drop 50 points and then 60 points. In the middle of that was Kevin Durant dropping 53. It has been a buckets explosion for the duo. But when will their defender extraordinaire get back out there? Is it possible Simmons won't be ready to roll for the postseason?

“Ben had an epidural while we were in Orlando. The idea being to try to accelerate his recovery and take some of the irritation down, so hopefully that'll help relieve some of the symptoms and be able to recover quicker and accelerate that process,” head coach Steve Nash offered prior to the Nets hosting Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

As a refresher, Simmons first suffered back impingement in 2020, shortly after the All-Star game. The Sixers said it was sustained in practice, although many fans speculated the former first overall pick first tweaked it during that All-Star Game, his first.

He was set to miss extended time when the season was postponed with the onset of the pandemic and was able to make his return to the bubble, only to dislocate his knee–an injury that required a clean-up surgery for loose bodies and recovered fully. Nonetheless, the back issue mostly resolved for the 2020-2021 season. He'd pop up on the injury report with tightness here and there, but it didn't cost him many games.

Simmons did report feeling tightness in the back when he reported to Sixers' training camp back in October. But it was never cited as the reason he missed games in Philadelphia this season. He missed those games citing mental health struggles. It sounds like the back issue flared up when he began to prep for his return to the court in Brooklyn. And suddenly, his playing at all this season is in doubt.

There is no update on a possible debut date for Simmons either.

Not long ago, GM Sean Marks said he hoped Simmons could practice by the end of this current week; however, it sounds like he's not even close to that.

“I don't have any update on [a timetable],” Nash added. “Yeah, see how it responds to the epidural then make a plan, I think.”

Is there a date in the future they're at least hopeful he can meet? “No, it just depends on like, I said on the epidural and how he responds, and then they can start to formulate a plan,” Nash responded.

According to WebMD, an epidural is an injection that goes into your “epidural space,” which is right outside of the membrane that protects your spinal cord. Doctors use epidural injections to relieve pain during and after surgery, as well as managing chronic pain.” They're famously used during some pregnancies to reduce pain.

Shortly after Nash was made available to reporters before the Nets host the Mavericks, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne collaborated on this update:

“Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons has remained sidelined with an irritation of the L-4 disc of the lower spine, but there's hope he can return for a “couple” of regular games prior to the Eastern Conference playoffs, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

There had been an original target for a return on Friday vs. the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said, but that became impossible in recent weeks based on Simmons' inability to go more than a consecutive day or two in rehab without pain flaring up in the lower back and resetting his timeline, sources said.

Simmons has continued to receive treatment, and work on strengthening his back and restarting his basketball activities in 1-on-0 settings on the court.”

So now we have even more context. Nash was asked if the epidural might illuminate whether or not he needs back surgery.

“I don't think anyone's even talked about a procedure,” Steve Nash explained. “So that would be way down the line scenario, we expect him back at some point. I'm not the doc, so I want to be very careful what I say about the epidural but…. I don't think they're in the dark as far as what's hurting him I think it's just about our finding the things that it will respond best to.”

When Nash talks about the team not being in the dark, it sounds like he means what the Woj and Shelburne piece mentions: that it's the L-4 disc specifically causing the flare-up.

As usual, Nets fans will have to hope that this team can get healthy in time for the end of the regular season. If the lack of a timetable and the presence of the epidural are worrisome, the subsequent update that they're at least hopeful he can play some regular season games is the silver lining.