Ben Simmons to miss at least next three games as Nets’ injury woes continue
The Nets have lacked consistency all season and have lacked at least one of their three stars for much of their first 23 games. This week, they were dealt another blow on both fronts.
Ben Simmons, who was playing his best basketball in years, sat out the 113-107 win over the Wizards on Wednesday night and will miss at least two more games with a left lateral upper calf strain.
Simmons suffered what had been previously termed left knee soreness during the Nets’ win Monday over the Magic, which he exited in the second quarter. The 26-year-old will sit out the games against the Raptors on Friday and Celtics on Sunday, then will be reassessed.
He already had missed five games earlier this season with knee soreness. Kyrie Irving did not suit up for eight games while he was suspended in November. Seth Curry has been in and out of the lineup following offseason ankle surgery, while the struggling Joe Harris has shown lingering effects from his own ankle surgery. Emerging forward Yuta Watanabe will miss at least another week with a strained hamstring.
The Nets, who are on their second coach of the season, have had little consistency in personnel and in play. Their new head coach, Jacque Vaughn, who has been intent upon finding groups of players who work well together, did not bemoan the latest setback.
“If you have been issued a team jersey, then you show up and you play and that’s how we are,” Vaughn said. “There’s no excuses.”
Simmons underwent back surgery during the offseason and all season has had issues with his left knee, which he has said are connected. He had surgery on the same knee in August 2020. He did not play all of last season with back and mental-health concerns, and appeared to be a shell of himself for the first three and half weeks of this campaign.
But since a Nov. 15 breakout at Sacramento, Simmons has played like the aggressive, two-way star he often was with the 76ers. He has been active on defense, able to guard just about anyone from point guards to centers, and he has averaged 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He reclaimed his starting job and has been a spark during the team’s recent uptick in play.
Vaughn said Simmons playing five games in seven days — and sustaining the injury on the back end of a back-to-back — could have contributed to the calf strain.
Whenever Simmons returns — this coming Wednesday against the Hornets at the earliest — there could be additional constraints on his playing time to ensure he can stay healthy.
“I think it’s on us to be smart when he does come back,” Vaughn said. “Does that mean minute restrictions? Maybe so. Does that mean not playing back-to-backs? Maybe so.”
Watanabe missed a sixth straight game with a strained right hamstring that required additional imaging Monday. The Nets said his MRI exam showed the same results, but because the strain is still affecting Watanabe, he will be reevaluated in a week.
After sitting Wednesday, the 28-year-old forward will miss at least four more games. The earliest he could return would be Friday against the Hawks.
Joe Harris, coming off a season-high 17-point performance Monday, shot 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range for 14 points.
The Wizards were early victims of the beginning of Vaughn’s reign, getting destroyed by 41 points in the second game after Steve Nash was let go as head coach.
Washington head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said the Nets’ defense is “different” and “terrific” under Vaughn.
“Gotta give Jacque and his staff a lot of credit. It shifted,” Unseld said before the game. “They’re a different team.”
How so?
“They’re in the process of establishing that identity,” Unseld added. “I think you’re seeing that on the defensive end. I don’t know how much is different, but a little bit more buy-in, a little bit more commitment. But you can tell there’s more intent.”
Day’Ron Sharpe sat out with a non-COVID illness and T.J. Warren had what is expected to be his final missed game before he makes his Nets debut Friday.