Nets’ Ben Simmons (knee) day-to-day after exit vs. Magic

On Monday, in the first half of the Brooklyn Nets’ 109-102 win over the Orlando Magic, Ben Simmons exited the game due to soreness in his left knee. The three-time All-Star already missed four games from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5 because of the same injury.

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn believes another MRI will not be necessary. “We’ll check him day by day, see how he responds with a little treatment,” Vaughn said after the win, “see what it looks like [Tuesday].”

According to a few NBA betting sites, the Nets now have the ninth-best odds to win the championship in 2023. Some sportsbooks show better odds for the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

"Super efficient, fun to be a part of."
Kyrie Irving discusses Kevin Durant's big night and Jacque Vaughn gives an injury update on Ben Simmons after Nets 109-102 win over the Magic pic.twitter.com/wcs1sxM1Pm

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) November 29, 2022

Simmons’ latest knee soreness is not related to his back injury. The Nets coach reiterated that point after the game. “No, I think more so than anything the accumulation of games,” Vaughn added.

“He hasn’t had this amount of accumulation of games over a period of a long time. Talked to the performance team about that. We were warned about that just as these games start to add up.

“His cumulative load as that begins to add up, it’s really stretching him sometimes the amount of games we’ve just had with the minutes that he’s played pretty high going into tonight’s game.”

Nets guard Ben Simmons (knee) listed as day-to-day on the injury report after first-half exit against Magic

After missing four games, Simmons went on to average 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists throughout the rest of November. He’s expected to miss Wednesday night’s home game against the Washington Wizards.

Through 17 starts this season, the Nets guard is averaging 8.4 points, 6.6 boards, 5.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Plus, he’s shooting a career-high 61.4% from the field.

While Simmons is logging a career-low player efficiency rating of 14.9, he’s also recording a career-best true shooting percentage of 61.5%. The guard is more accurate based on fewer field goal attempts per game (5.9).

Back-to-back Ws 👍 pic.twitter.com/F43W1aMprz

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 29, 2022

Furthermore, in Brooklyn’s 109-107 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 17, the 26-year-old finished with his first double-double of the season and first since the 2020-21 season.

In 33 minutes, Ben Simmons accumulated 15 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Not to mention, he shot an impressive 6-of-6 (100%) from the floor and 3-of-4 (75%) at the foul line.

Three days later, in the Nets’ 127-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the LSU product scored a season-high 22 points in 35 minutes of action. He finished 11-of-13 (84.6%) shooting from the floor.

In a 115-106 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers last Tuesday, Simmons recorded his second double-double of the season. He amassed 11 points, seven boards, 11 assists, three steals, and three blocks in 33 minutes.