Struggling Nets thrilled to see Simmons return to court

Reporters were greeted to the sight of Ben Simmons whipping chest passes to Cam Johnson as they trickled into the Nets’ practice gym on Monday morning. Johnson was calibrating his 3-pointer in preparation for the team’s matchup against the Jazz at Barclays Center. And for the first time since Nov. 6, the man who was spraying the ball to him would be suiting up as well.

“Just game-type reps,” Johnson said. “One thing you know about him is he’s looking to create for others, so it’s all about getting into windows and making yourself available.”

The Nets upgraded Simmons from probable to available at approximately 11:30 am on Monday. The three-time All-Star had missed 38 consecutive games because of a pinched nerve in his lower back, but was officially cleared to return to the court — and the Nets desperately needed his services.

“I mean he definitely helps. It’s good to see him back with the group,” Nic Claxton said. “Of course, he brings this extremely high basketball IQ, being able to defend multiple positions on the defensive side of the ball, rebounding, so we’re definitely happy to have him back.”

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s 106-104 victory over the Rockets at home, Simmons said he was looking forward to getting back on the floor and using his size and versatility to make an immediate impact for a Nets team that had gone 3-9 in January, falling to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Jacque Vaughn’s team was a half game back of play-in positioning entering Monday.

Simmons averaged 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his first six appearances this season while shooting 52.8% from the field. The Nets went 3-3 in those games and have gone 15-24 since.

Simmons’ return gives the Nets much-needed boosts in terms of shot creation, which should help take some pressure off of Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and others who have been forced to carry the scoring load. He is also a switchable big man capable of guarding all five positions on the court, which should further fortify a defense that has been a Top 5 group at that end of the court in January.

“(He) just adds more versatility to the group in general,” Claxton said. “So having another guy who’s used to switching, somebody that I’m used to playing with and we did some good things on the defensive side of the ball last year, so just being able to continue to add to that.”

But it is important for fans to temper their expectations over Simmons’ first handful of games. The 6-foot10 guard was just scrimmaging with G Leaguers on Saturday on Long Island. He did not start on Monday night and, in all likelihood, will be on some sort of minutes restriction in the early going. It will take him some time to ramp up and return to form, whatever that looks like.

But a healthy Simmons means the Nets are one step closer to being whole. And the team should showcase a better product at both ends of the court because of it.

“Having his energy, fresh legs out there,” Claxton said. “We’re pretty desperate right now. We need wins. We don’t have time to kind of be on cruise control right now. We’ve been taking a lot of losses. So we need Ben to come out locked in.”

Visiting Utah is a perfect example of how quickly things can turn around. After a 4-11 start to the year, they won 11 of their last 15 games entering Monday and now sit in 10th place in the Western Conference standings ahead of the Rockets and Warriors.

Johnson believes the Nets stilll have enough time left to make a run at the postseason. Simmons’ presence gives them a better chance to do so.

“Plenty of room,” Johnson said. “Plenty of room and you have to give (Utah) credit for being able to do that. Saying it is one thing. Doing it is a whole different thing… We have a chance to do the same right now. And that’s what I’m saying. that’s what we need to take advantage of.”

The big game in pro football this year is the best game, because Patrick Mahomes and America’s Boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid are in it. Mahomes is most important of the three. You can’t have the best game without him.

Nothing against Lamar Jackson, who once again turned out to be the MVP of a regular season but not a playoff season. Nothing against the Lions, who would have been one of the great Cinderella stories in the history of the Super Bowl, as they tried to win their first Super Bowl and their first NFL title since 1957. In pro football, that is the equivalent of what 1918 once was for the Red Sox, and 1908 was for the Cubs.

We still needed Mahomes and the Chiefs to make it to Vegas for Super Bowl 58, the way major championship Sundays once needed Tiger Woods. He wore red. Red is the Chiefs’ primary color. It figures, and fits.

The 49ers bring a lot of story of their own to Super Sunday, which always feels like our national sports holiday even if the game is played on a Sunday night. Their quarterback, Brock Purdy, who played like a star himself when his team’s season was on the line Sunday night against the Lions, was once the last player, No. 262, taken in the NFL draft. Now No. 262 goes up against the No. 1 guy in the position and the No. 1 star of the sport. Purdy’s team is an early favorite as if somebody else can really be the favorite when Mahomes is in the stadium.

We now get a rematch of the Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl we got a few years ago, when Jimmy Garoppolo was the San Francisco quarterback and his team was up 10 on Mahomes’s team before it ended up losing by 11. The 49ers were the best team in the NFC this season, despite a mid-season slump. The Chiefs? They weren’t the best team in the AFC, at least not until the money was on the table. Then they beat the Bills in Buffalo, the first time Mahomes ever had to play a road playoff game in his career. Then they did the same to Jackson and the Ravens, who had the best record in their conference and the best defense. Mahomes and the Chiefs scored the first two times they had the ball Sunday afternoon. It looked the way it did when the young Mike Tyson was still the baddest man on the planet and would come charging out of his corner in the first round and connect with his first couple of punches and make you think the fight was over right there.

“It’s been a heck of a year, we’ve been underdogs for the last few games but we never feel like underdogs,” Mahomes said on Sunday after the Chiefs had played him into the fourth Super Bowl of his career. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team that know how to win when playoffs come around. I knew we were gonna make it happen and now we’re in the Super Bowl.”

This makes four Super Bowls for him in five years. Say it again: If Patrick Mahomes, playing against the 49ers and against history now, wins his third, he will have the same number of Lombardi Trophies as Tom Brady did at a similar age. Brady, of course, would have one of the great finishing kicks in sports history, finally getting his seventh Super Bowl championship with the

Kadarius Toney is indeed injured, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday, a day after the former Giants wide receiver allegedly claimed otherwise.

Toney was inactive for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game win over the Ravens, with part of his designation referencing a hip injury.

In an Instagram Live video, a voice believed to be Toney’s claims “I’m not hurt” amid an explicit tirade.

Reid on Monday said he hadn’t seen the video but was aware of it.

“He’s been on the injury report, so that part is not made up by any means,’’ Reid said. “He’s been working through some things.”

Reid said Toney, 25, would be back with the Chiefs this week at practice as the team prepares to face the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.

Toney, who last played in Week 15, was a full participant in last Wednesday’s practice before putting in limited sessions on Thursday and Friday. Recent injury reports also referenced an ankle injury for Toney.

In addition to the hip, Sunday’s designation noted personal reasons for Toney being out, with NFL Network later reporting the wide receiver welcomed a baby girl on Saturday night.

The Giants took Toney in the first round of the 2021 draft but traded him to Kansas City less than two years later following a turbulent tenure marred by injuries. Concerns about his commitment prompted the Giants to explore a trade after his rookie season, the Daily News reported at the time, before ultimately sending him to the Chiefs for third-round and sixth-round picks during his sophomore campaign.

Toney delivered a 65-yard punt return and caught a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory over the Eagles last year.

This season, however, Toney managed only 27 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown while dropping five passes in 13 games. Twice this season a tipped pass off of Toney’s hands ended up as an interception. Toney also lined up offsides on a crucial fourth-quarter play during Kansas City’s Week 14 loss to the Bills — a penalty that overturned his would-be go-ahead a touchdown after receiving a lateral from tight end Travis Kelce.

OMENIHU OUT

Kansas City’s defense will be down a key player in the Super Bowl.

Defensive end Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL during the AFC Championship Game, according to multiple reports Monday.

Omenihu appeared to confirm the news by posting a broken-heart emoji on social media.

The 26-year-old Omenihu recorded a career-high seven sacks this season, which was his first with Kansas City and fifth in the NFL.