Back at it
Simmons likely returns tonight after missing over two months
The Nets, in their own way, gave Ben Simmons something positive to likely return to on Monday against the Jazz.
While they did break their threegame losing streak in a 106-104 victory over the Rockets on Saturday in which the Nets once held a 28-point lead, the game wasn’t without the team’s usual fourth-quarter mishaps and letdowns.
But those miscues, the Nets believe, can be aided by Simmons’ return after his 2 ½-month absence to address a nerve impingement in his lower back.
“It’s not really easy for nobody to just come in like that and it be like a seamless transition, but obviously he’ll have good spurts,” said Cam Thomas after Saturday’s win. “I mean, obviously he’ll have bad spurts, he hasn’t played in a while. It’s tough. It’s tough for anybody.
“It was tough for me first coming back playing with the guys, trying to figure out where I fit in and just the rhythm of the game again. Just rhythm of the game, flow, the conditioning aspect of it. We can do as much conditioning as we want, the game is a different speed, it’s a different transition, different reads.
“The game moves fast, so we gotta give him some games, but I’m sure if he’s coming back he’ll be ready to go . ... But we just gotta give him time.”
One significant difference the Nets are looking forward to is having simply Simmons’ 6-foot-10 size, adding length to their rotation that has Simmons and Nic Claxton (6-11) as their tallest contributors.
Against the Timberwolves on Thursday, Brooklyn was noticeably lacking in size when facing 7-1 Rudy Gobert and 7-0 Karl-Anthony Towns. While Claxton was competitive on the boards, he could have used Simmons’ help as Minnesota outrebounded the Nets 38-32. The Nets were also bested on the boards by Houston on Saturday night, only grabbing 40 boards to versus the Rockets’ 55 — including a 15-2 difference on the offensive glass.
“I’d probably say just doing everything for us . ... It’s a good thing he’s like 6-10, that helps,” Thomas said with a laugh when asked what Simmons will bring to the table.
In the six games Simmons has played this season, he averaged 6.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 10.8 rebounds while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. In that same span, the Nets outscored their opponents on fast breaks, averaging 22.3 points off the break and they outrebounded the opposition in four of the six games, averaging 45.8 boards.
Those numbers have dropped significantly in Simmons’ absence. In the Nets’ past six games, they have averaged 11.5 fast-break points and 37 rebounds per game.
Simmons has only appeared in 48 of 163 games since the Nets acquired him during the 2021-22 season from the 76ers.
His salary this season is $37.9 million — meaning he has been paid roughly $6.3 million for each game he has played this season.
The Nets are likely to get one key player back in Ben Simmons on Monday, but they will be without another due to an injury suffered in Saturday’s tight 106-104 win over the Rockets.
After blocking a Cam Whitmore shot during the third quarter, Dorian Finney-Smith sprained his left ankle and he will be out for Monday night’s game against the Jazz, the team announced Sunday.
Finney-Smith exited the game with 3:45 left in the third quarter after appearing shaken up following the block and never returned. The forward had 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks while shooting 58.3 percent in 31 minutes of action against the Rockets.
After the victory, which broke the Nets’ three-game losing streak, head coach Jacque Vaughn was unable to give an update on the forward’s status.
“Unfortunately he wasn’t able to finish the game, which was huge for us. It affected us a lot of ways,” Vaughn said. “I would have subbed him when they were fouling Nic [Claxton], so that piece of it. Nic was tired because we had to play him 40 minutes, so we needed [Finney-Smith]. Also, and then [Finney-Smith’s] ability to — as you saw tonight — really stretch the floor, get downhill, his defense ability.
“He was able to guard [Alperen] Sengun. He was able to guard [Fred] VanVleet. He’s able to guard Jeff Green. And so, his versatility is huge for us, especially with no Day’Ron [Sharpe] right now. So, no update besides he wasn’t able to finish the game, but we definitely missed him.”
Finney-Smith, 30, is currently having his best season, averaging 9.1 points on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 38.3 percent from the 3-point line.
Royce O’Neale will likely start in his place for Monday’s matchup.
➤ Simmons, who Vaughn said was likely to return on Monday, has been listed as probable. Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) will remain out.