Joining team in Philly, won't play Head coach Steve Nash confirmed Simmons will rejoin the team in Philadelphia ahead of Thursday's matchup with the 76ers, though Simmons won't play in the game and remains without a... Impact Simmons hasn't practiced since first experiencing back soreness a week and a half ago and is likely several more games away from making his team debut, but Nash believes that having the 25-year-old on the bench in what is expected to be a hostile atmosphere in Philadelphia will help him get one potential psychological hurdle out of the way despite not actually playing. The Nets aren't scheduled to practice again until Saturday, and though Simmons hasn't been ruled out from participating in that session in some capacity, Nash noted that Simmons won't immediately go into 5-on-5 drills. Instead, Simmons is expected to ramp up gradually for full-contact, full-court work while he looks to move past the back injury and regain conditioning after having not played all season.
MARCH 8, 2022 • ROTOWIRE