More and more, all signs are pointing toward Ben Simmons making his Nets — and season — debut Monday in Game 4 of Brooklyn’s Eastern Conference first-round series against Boston.
Simmons hasn’t officially been ruled out of Saturday’s Game 3 at Barclays Center, but that seems a bridge too far in his race against time to recover from the herniated L-4 disk in his back that’s sidelined him since a Feb. 10 trade from Philadelphia that cost the Nets former MVP James Harden.
After The Post and ESPN both reported Simmons was likely to aim for a Game 4 debut as long as he didn’t suffer any setbacks, The Athletic confirmed as much on Thursday.
“He’s made marked progress,” a source told The Post.
It couldn’t come at a better time, with the Nets down 2-0 in the series as they return home.
With Brooklyn’s Game 4 against the Celtics a day or two later than Game 4 of every other first-round series in these playoffs, a source close to Simmons said the Nets and their newly acquired young star caught a break from the league’s schedule-makers.
“The NBA did us a huge favor,” the source said. “There’s like 10 days in there [to recover].”
Simmons was finally cleared for contact work on Monday, and jumped right past one-on-one and three-on-three work. The All-Star did four-on-four contact work Monday and again before Wednesday’s Game 2 loss at Boston, and is slated to go four-on-four again at Friday’s practice at HSS Training Center.
If Simmons’ back comes through the weekend without incident, he could be making his debut on Monday. And should the Nets drop Game 3, Simmons would theoretically be stepping on the court for the first time all season in an elimination game.
Even if Simmons does debut on Monday — or at some later point, should the Nets extend this series — it remains to be seen exactly how many minutes he can give, or just how effective and impactful the 25-year-old will be.
Simmons has made three All-Star games and averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his career, and was runner-up for last year’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
But he hasn’t seen live action since last June 20, in Philadelphia’s second-round Game 7 loss to Atlanta. He struggled from the free-throw line in those playoffs, and hasn’t played at all this season, first citing mental health issues and then his back woes. In his last attempt to ramp up to play for Brooklyn, he suffered a setback and required a cortisone shot roughly five weeks ago.
Simmons has made “marked progress” over the past two weeks, with his return now seemingly a matter of when, not if.
If the Nets extend the series and Golden State-Denver also requires a Game 5, the Nets will travel back to Boston for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday on TNT. But if Warriors-Nuggets isn’t needed, Brooklyn will face the Celtics at 7 p.m.