Inside Simmons’ ‘diligent’ rehab… and ‘huge advantage’ he just gave his struggling NBA team

After lacking almost three months, Ben Simmons lastly returned to the court docket Monday.

But what he provides the Nets the remainder of the season stays to be seen.

Brooklyn’s tilt in opposition to Utah was Simmons’ first sport since November 6, coming back from a nerve impingement in his left decrease again.

Allowing for rust and absence, the Nets try to handle Simmons — and expectations.

“It’ll be good to have him back on the floor, that’s the first thing for him to be around his teammates and compete in a game setting. He’ll be on a minutes restriction. He is not starting,” coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned.

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“It’s been a few months since we’ve seen him on the floor and there’ll be some line-ups out here that we literally haven’t played together. So that challenge of continuing to learn about your teammates while you’re trying to win a game, we’ll have some different combinations. Especially with [Dorian Finney-Smith] being out, that changes things. So there’ll be some line-ups that haven’t played together.”

The high-priced and oft-injured Simmons had been restricted to simply six video games this season coming into Monday, and 48 complete for the reason that Nets acquired him on the 2021-22 commerce deadline.

After lacking the earlier 38 straight, Simmons — incomes $37.9 million this season and $40.3 subsequent season — practiced with G-League Long Island over the weekend and was cleared Monday afternoon.

Asked if Simmons would wish to string collectively a run of excellent well being earlier than the crew may depend on him, Vaughn replied: “For me, he’s told me he’s ready to go. Got the sign-off from the performance team … so he’s another basketball player for us. He’s going to try to help us win. I’m going to keep it as simple as that.”

The Nets — coming into Monday simply 18-27 and sitting exterior the play-in spots — may use a wholesome Simmons, restrictions or not, particularly with Finney-Smith and backup centre Day’Ron Sharpe each out.

“He definitely helps us. It’s good to see him back with the group,” Nic Claxton mentioned. “He brings this extremely high basketball IQ, being able to defend multiple positions … [and] rebounding. So we’re definitely happy to have him back.

“He’s been diligent, he’s been locked-in on his rehab. Of course, nobody wants to go through what he’s going through with his back injury and everything. But he’s happy to be back. I’m just happy to see how everything will look with him back with the group.”

Their presumptive high seven of Simmons, Claxton, Finney-Smith, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas and Spencer Dinwiddie have been out there simply as soon as all season: Opening Night.

They weren’t collectively in opposition to the Jazz, both.

“I’m excited. He’s a big piece of what we want to do,” Johnson mentioned. “I only got to play the first game of the season with him, and even then I was fresh back [from my own hamstring injury], so it wasn’t really necessarily full-go. So I’m really excited to get back on board and re-establish that chemistry and the way we want to play.”

The trio of Simmons, Bridges and Claxton had logged simply 4:18 with Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith, and 4:32 alongside Dinwiddie and Johnson coming into Monday.

They’d performed only a one minute every with Thomas and Finney-Smith, and alongside Thomas and Johnson.

In essence, they do not know what these line-ups will truly seem like.

They can merely financial institution on being higher with Simmons than with out him, a switchable 6-foot-10 defender who can guard a number of positions and was averaging 10.8 rebounds earlier than the harm.

“That’s a huge advantage. He can really guard, and he can also rebound on top of that,” Johnson mentioned. “Everything that we want to do as a team, he fits that mould.”

Claxton is among the league’s finest switching centres.

Following a disastrous try to go to drop protection, the Nets have performed higher defensively the previous month after returning to a switching scheme. Simmons ought to solely assist that.

“It just adds more versatility to the group in general, just having another guy who’s used to switching, somebody I’m used to playing with,” Claxton mentioned. “We did some really good things on defensive side of the ball last year, so just being able to continue to add to that.”

This story was initially revealed in The New York Post and reproduced with permission.