Ben Simmons will not be in the lineup of the Brooklyn Nets for the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, ‘there is no chance’ Simmons will make his season debut vs the Sixers.
Brooklyn acquired the All-Star guard via a trade from Philadelphia on February 10. As part of the deal, the Nets also added Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. On the contrary, the Sixers signed superstar guard James Harden and veteran big man Paul Millsap.
For his part, Ben Simmons hasn’t played a single game this season. The Sixers kept him out of the rotation until the trade, so he now needs time to return to form.
Even though the Nets were optimistic Ben Simmons would make his season debut Thursday, he will be out, due to lingerick back concerns.
Wojnarowski also noted Brooklyn desperately wants to get Ben Simmons back to the floor. With that in mind, the team will re-evaluate the versatile guard/forward after its return from the three-game road trip on Friday.
Brooklyn currently is ninth in the East, at 32-33. They have lost four in a row and are tied with the Atlanta Hawks (31-32) for the final play-in spot.
The Nets need to play with a sense of urgency in the remaining 17 games to reach the postseason. They are 3-16 in the last 19 games.
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