Sixers

March 10th Watch: A Ben Simmons Back Update

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 1st, 2022 · 7:30 AM EST

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Will Ben Simmons play against the Sixers on March 10th? It’s not looking good. It was reported recently that his back is acting up again (wink wink), and there’s no date for a Brooklyn debut.

Then on Monday, we got a back update via Shams Charania:

What's goin on with Ben Simmons??

"He is gonna have to rehab that back but there is hope & optimism that he'll be back on the floor before the playoffs" ~@ShamsCharania#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/mOhlBaiI7m

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 28, 2022

Shams misspoke there, yeah? I think he meant to say, “at some point before the playoffs.” Otherwise the sentence doesn’t make sense.

Here’s Nick Friedell at ESPN:

Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said Monday that Ben Simmons still has not been cleared for practice as he recovers from the back soreness that he’s been dealing with as he prepares to return to game action for the first time in almost nine months.

Simmons will not practice the rest of this week, and it remains unclear when he’ll be able to make his debut for the Nets, who acquired him at the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

Well, I hope he’d be ready to go before the playoffs. He’s done jack shit this year other than work out, get engaged, and play Call of Duty. Ben did have a back issue in Philadelphia, but you’d think that a lack of NBA game time for months on end would have gone a long way toward helping him get back to normal. If I had to guess, his back will miraculously heal on March 11th.

But if it doesn’t perhaps he could use a backiotomy, which was suggested by Sir Smoke-a-Lot’s doctor in the seminal 1998 film, Half Baked:

If that doesn’t work, he could turn to Mike Tyson for advice:

Nets: “You coming back soon?”

Ben Simmons: pic.twitter.com/41XYKYvliS

— Basketball Afficionado (@NBAAfficionado_) February 26, 2022