All signs had been pointing to Ben Simmons making his Brooklyn Nets debut in Monday's Game 4 against the Boston Celtics. But then the Celtics beat the Nets in Game 3 on Saturday night to go up 3-0, and all of a sudden, Simmons reported more back soreness and now won't play in Game 4.

This move has led to a cacophony of criticism across NBA Twitter and from major media personalities. TNT's Reggie Miller went hard at Simmons, calling him out for lacking competitive fire. Fellow TNT analysts Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley also reacted to the Simmons situation, with Shaq blasting the decision as a “punk move” and Chuck agreeing with this sentiment:

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Now, we don't know what exactly is going on with Ben Simmons' back. Perhaps the Nets star really did have another flare-up after a bunch of pain-free work leading up to this moment. Maybe he actually is too hurt to play.

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But this timing is awfully convenient after Brooklyn's latest loss put the season on the brink, and a lot of people aren't buying what's going on here. It is somewhat hard to believe Simmons went from looking good and teasing his return to not playing, but, again, maybe this back issue is truly a problem. Backs are tricky!

Whatever is going on here, it's now looking like Simmons will actually not play a game this entire season…or maybe he'll actually be ready if the Nets force a Game 5. Who knows?! What a wild ride this has been.