Ben Simmons ‘Feels Great’ and Plans to Play Against Dallas After Missing Four Games Due to Knee Soreness
The Brooklyn Nets’ start to the season can be summed up in one word, chaos.
From the slow 4-6 record to start the season to their decision to part ways with former coach Steve Nash and now dealing with the suspension/backlash following Kyrie Irving’s controversial social media posting of a film with anti-Semitic messaging, the Nets are in desperate need of some good news right now.
Lucky for Nets fans, they just may have gotten some much-needed sunlight. In a recent report per The New York Post, All-Star guard Ben Simmon’s injury status has been changed from “out” to “available” for tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Simmons said he “feels great” and will play a limited amount of about 20 minutes tonight against Luka Doncic and the Mavs.
Simmons has missed the Nets’ last four games with a sore left knee and did not travel with the team on their recent road games in Charlotte or Washington. Luckily for Simmons and the Nets, it does not seem like the knee was a severe danger. The MRI came back clean and revealed some swelling that Simmons had drained.
With Irving suspended, for the time being, this Dallas game seems like the perfect opportunity for Simmons to maybe take over and play a point-forward role as he did with the Philadelphia 76ers. We all know how special and gifted a player Simmons can be with the ball in his hands, and with Kevin Durant (who has been on an absolute tear as of late) on the wing, the two could make an unstoppable 1-2 combo.
It will be exciting to see how interim coach Jacque Vaughn utilizes Simmons tonight in this matchup. Doncic has been scorching hot in every game he has played this year. Doncic comes into this Nets game averaging 36.0 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists.
It will take a lot to slow this Maverick’s team down; however, the Nets are riding a two-game win streak, so hopefully, we will see some of the recently developed momentum carry over into tonight.
