Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets will be without Ben Simmons when they take on the Indiana Pacers Monday. The star point guard has been ruled out with left knee soreness.
Moreover, Nets head coach Steve Nash was unsure of Simmons' status ahead of Tuesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.
“Ben just has a sore knee, that's all I know really,” Nash said. “Tomorrow we'll have to monitor it and see how it is, but tonight he's out and we'll see how the knee is tomorrow and if he's able to roll.”
Simmons has yet to miss a game for Brooklyn this year. The 26-year-old underwent back surgery this offseason and has not looked like himself athletically through six games. Simmons has shown a clear lack of aggressiveness, averaging 6.2 points on just 5.7 shots per game.
The three-time All-Star showed visible discomfort after initiating contact on several plays this year. Following his regular season debut, Simmons said his body's re-acclimation would be a process.
“It takes time,” Simmons said. “Having back surgery and being away from the game for a year, there’s little things that your mind might tell you to go do something but your body’s not wanting to go do that.”
I thought this play wasn't talked about enough Monday. Simmons generates most contact we've seen and comes up grabbing his back.
He said this when I asked him about aggressiveness after the opener. Shouldn't be too surprising after surgery, but clearly lingering effects there. https://t.co/V0MT0adWkm pic.twitter.com/vXydcPQo63
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) October 26, 2022
The former no. 1 pick is an integral piece of Brooklyn's plan on both sides of the ball, something Nash emphasized before Simmons' debut.
“I think the vision is for him to be the engine of this team on both sides of the ball,” the head coach said.
At 6'11” with high-level ball-handling and playmaking ability, Simmons' skillset is unlike that of any other player in Nets franchise history. However, Brooklyn has yet to see those returns with the Aussie struggling to find his rhythm early on. Nash's comments Monday are the first reports of soreness in Simmons' knee.
Brooklyn also ruled out guard Seth Curry Monday. The sharpshooter made his Nets debut Saturday against Indiana, shooting 0-5 from the field in 18 minutes. Curry is recovering from offseason ankle surgery, a process that is admittedly taking longer than he expected.
“We'll see how Seth is tomorrow and go from there,” Nash said pregame Monday. “But I think he feels like he's got a little bit of a ways to go before he's at his best.”
Kevin Durant and the Nets will look to get their second win of the season in a rematch with the Pacers on Monday before matchups with the Bulls, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets later this week.
Follow Us
Subscribe