Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has made an immediate impact in two games since returning from a calf injury. Simmons posted 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5 of 9 shooting during Brooklyn's 112-100 win over Washington Monday.

The three-time All-Star missed four games with a left calf strain the week prior.

Simmons had played his best basketball of the season leading up to the injury, averaging 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on 42-of-53 (79.2 percent) shooting in eight appearances prior. The extended absence was not Simmons' first of the young season as he missed four games with soreness and swelling in his left knee in early November.

Physical hurdles were expected with Simmons returning from offseason back surgery and a year-long layoff. However, the multiple ailments outside of his back have raised concerns about the 26-year-old's durability this season. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said Brooklyn is adjusting their approach following Simmons' second extended absence.

“We’re definitely going to react to the number of minutes he played before he had to take some time off,” Vaughn said Wednesday. “Maybe that was a sign to us that those minutes were too many. At that time, he was trying to play back-to-backs, and he was playing mid-30s at that time as well. So we’re definitely going to take a look at that and we have.”

Simmons sustained the calf injury while playing the second game of his third back-to-back of the season. The Aussie had averaged 31.6 minutes per game in 17 appearances prior. Vaughn has eased Simmons back to the court upon his return, playing him 21 minutes Friday vs. Atlanta and 23 Monday against Washington.

“You saw his minutes the last couple of games. They won’t be that low going forward, I mean I’d love to keep everybody in the 20s if we’re winning, but we’ll be very smart in if he’s going to play back-to-backs and what those minutes look like,” Vaughn said. “Probably not high 30s like they were on some occasions.”

The Nets made it a priority to rest their top players during the last week. Kevin Durant and Royce O'Neale ranked one and two in the league in minutes following Friday's win over Atlanta.

Brooklyn sat their top eight rotation players Saturday against Indiana. And with three days off following Monday's win, those players will have played just one game in a full week when the team travels to Toronto Friday. O'Neale will have had the full week off after also missing Monday's game.

“To manage our guys vs. Indiana and have them very fresh vs. Washington, and then to get through the Washington game with the win, I thought it would set us up going into really the remainder of the month,” Vaughn said of the extended time off. “For us to get these three days in between games, we'll go play Toronto and I think our guys should be loaded with freshness and ready to get two wins on the road.”

The Nets have posted the NBA's best record over their last 14 games at 11-3. The recent hot stretch has Brooklyn a half-game back behind the Cavs for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Vaughn's squad will look to ride that momentum when they travel to Toronto and Detroit to close out the week before a tough three-game slate against Milwaukee, Golden State, and Cleveland.