Nets' Ben Simmons dealing with back soreness, further strengthening of the area needed, per report

A new obstacle has arisen when it comes to Ben Simmons' return to game action for the Brooklyn Nets. In addition to working to overcome the mental health issues that have prevented him from playing in a single game this season, Simmons is also dealing with some back soreness in his reconditioning process, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Further strengthening of the area will be required before Simmons makes it out on the floor.

There is still no timetable set for Simmons to make his debut with the Nets, but the good news for Brooklyn is that Simmons' back issue doesn't seem to be especially serious, as Steve Nash categorized it as "soreness" and described it as a byproduct of the fact that Simmons hasn't played since last season.

"It's not like an injury. It's just as he's returning to play his back's flared up a little bit... But it's not a long-term thing." Nash said. "He hasn't played a game since July. June? So I think that's just a part of his process in returning to play. As you ramp-up, you're a little bit susceptible to certain things, as you would be with muscle soreness or tightness. He's having a little tightness with his back."

In addition to Simmons, the Nets have also been without Kevin Durant due to a sprained MCL, but his return appears to be right around the corner. Along with Durant and Kyrie Irving, Simmons projects to be a major factor in whatever success the Nets are able to achieve for the rest of the season, so the sooner he can get out on the court to gain some familiarity with his new teammates, the better for Brooklyn.

Comments

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

LeBron James says he has 'no relationship' with Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

It's not a matter of if LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the No. 1 spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list, it's when. James sits just 1,326 points away from passing the Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers legend, a milestone that should happen at some point this season given James is still performing at peak levels and is coming off a year in which he averaged over 30 points a night. If he averages around the same amount of points as he did a season ago for the Lakers, James could break the record somewhere in the middle of the season, assuming he stays healthy. It's a highly anticipated moment heading into the season, but in regards to LeBron's thoughts about and his relationship with Abdul-Jabbar, he didn't have much to say on the matter. Following the Lakers first preseason game Monday night, a reporter asked James what his thoughts were on the Lakers legend and if the two had any relationship, to which LeBron gave a very short answer. "No...

Klay Thompson to sit out Warriors preseason games in Japan as Kerr says he needs more time to ramp-up

Klay Thompson may have returned healthy to the Golden State Warriors last season, but the scars from his two missed seasons are still quite visible. The Warriors played their first of two preseason games against the Washington Wizards on Friday and will play another on Sunday, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that Thompson will not be playing at all during the trip to Japan. "Just feel more comfortable giving him a little more of a ramp up," Kerr said before Friday's victory over Washington. "He's just not quite ready to play at this point just based on where, you know, we're so early in camp. We just want to be safe and make sure he gets a good ramp-up before he plays in games." Typically, so little time to ramp up wouldn't be a problem for a veteran in a preseason context. The games tend to be so low-impact and demand so few minutes out of a team's best players that they can safely jog through them. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played 1...

Crossover World

Search This Blog