Ben Simmons still has not suited up to play during the 2021-22 season, but that might change in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. With the Nets punching their ticket with a play-in win over Cleveland, a first round matchup is set against the Celtics, and with Boston’s tremendous wing talent, Simmons’ abilities as a defender would certainly be useful for the Nets — at least on paper.
On Thursday, word emerged from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that Simmons is targeting the second week of the series — Games 4-6 — for his return, which even Windhorst seemed stunned by as he provided details on Get Up!
.@WindhorstESPN says Ben Simmons could make his Nets debut as early as game four against Boston
“For seven, eight weeks now I’ve heard nothing but pessimism on the Ben Simmons front, and that has switched dramatically in the last few days.” pic.twitter.com/5GfhuvKvto
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 14, 2022
That report was corroborated by Shams Charania later in the day, and it certainly seems like there is going to be a real effort from Simmons to get on the court in the middle of this first round series.
Sources: Nets three-time All-Star Ben Simmons is targeting a return within Games 4-6 (April 25-29) of first round series vs. Celtics.
Discussing Simmons and more on @Stadium NBA Playoff Preview Show: https://t.co/bEFYKs2ObS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2022
What makes this even more fascinating than a player trying to play his first games of the season in the playoffs on a team he’s never played for is that Simmons could be suiting up for his first game of the season in an elimination game. It’d be fairly surprising if Boston was going for a sweep of the Nets in Game 4, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that the Celtics could be up 3-1 ahead of Game 5 or 3-2 going into Game 6, which would make for an even more intense environment for Simmons to parachute into.
On the other side, if the Nets are up in the series at that time, would they want to mess with what’s been working by adding Simmons to the mix. For a Brooklyn team that hasn’t been short on drama all season, it figures they would add another layer to the mix for the playoffs right as they seemed to be gaining a bit of continuity.