The more things change, the more they stay the same with the Nets.
The team announced on Friday afternoon that Ben Simmons had been diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back. The diagnosis came following a reevaluation earlier in the day and it will keep him out “while we determine the best long-term course of treatment.”
It is the latest in a long list of setbacks for Simmons, who has not suited up for the Nets since Feb. 15. Brooklyn is down to its final nine games of the regular season and the odds of Simmons being ready to play in the postseason — whatever that may look like for the Nets — is becoming less and less likely.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn had said on Thursday that Simmons had only been working out individually.
“It is not with teammates, and so I’ll say that piece of it,” Vaughn said. “He hasn’t scripted with our group — second group, first group, anything of that nature.”
The Nets head coach was non-committal when asked about Simmons playing in the postseason. Simmons has missed 15 straight games with a combination of back and knee problems, which have plagued him during the course of the year.
He has played in 42 games this season while averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
