NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons exited Monday evening’s 109-102 win over the Orlando Magic with left knee soreness and didn’t return.
Simmons, who has missed six video games already this season due to the identical harm, exited within the second quarter.
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned Simmons was having some discomfort within the knee and requested to return out. He does not assume Simmons will want one other MRI however the staff will see how he is feeling on Tuesday and is itemizing him as day-to-day for now.
“We’ll verify him day-to-day, see how he responds with slightly therapy,” he mentioned, “see what it appears like (Tuesday).”
Vaughn doesn’t assume Simmons’ newest knee setback is said to his again surgical procedure over the summer time.
“No, I feel extra so than something the buildup of video games,” Vaughn mentioned. “He hasn’t had this quantity of accumulation of video games over a interval of a very long time. Talked to the efficiency staff about that. We have been warned about that simply as these video games begin to add up.
“His cumulative load as that begins so as to add up, it is actually stretching him generally the quantity of video games we have simply had with the minutes that he is performed fairly excessive going into tonight’s sport.”
Since returning to the ground after lacking a Nov. 13 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Simmons has performed his greatest basketball of the season — averaging 10.5 factors, 7 rebounds and 5.2 assists throughout November.
Simmons completed Monday’s sport with zero factors, 4 rebounds and three assists in 12 minutes.
“When he is not on the market, we do not have our level ahead, or our level guard,” Nets guard Kyrie Irving mentioned, noting that he appreciated the coaching workers’s cautious strategy with Simmons. “With the ability to provoke straightforward alternatives, push the ball in transition, so we’ll positively miss him within the lineup. Hopefully he comes again subsequent sport. If he is coping with it, we simply need him to return again as wholesome as potential and we’ll determine it out.”
The Nets are already taking part in with out massive man Yuta Watanabe, who stays out due to a proper hamstring pressure. Vaughn mentioned earlier than the sport that Watanabe had one other MRI on his hamstring on Monday however that the outcomes have not returned but.
Nets star Kevin Durant is aware of that if Simmons has to overlook any extra time the Nets must play a fair smaller lineup with out him.
“We have to play smaller, he is one in all our bigs on the market,” Durant mentioned. “So I assumed coach did a great job of attempting to pick the small lineup on the fly. We bought to play slightly quicker and I feel all of us bought to do a great job of gang rebounding, doing the little stuff when he is not on the market.
“We now have some observe in with him not being within the lineup and we was capable of determine some stuff out, so one thing as drastic as this, him leaving within the (second) quarter, we was capable of make that adjustment.”
