Nash: Return to action up to Simmons
Nets head coach Steve Nash says it's up to Ben Simmons to decide whether he'll make his Brooklyn Nets debut during the first round.
"There's no other way than him to say, 'I'm ready.' Especially after an absence this long," Nash told reporters, including ESPN's Nick Friedell, after Wednesday's shootaround. "So, whenever he is ready, it's going to have to be on him to say, 'I feel comfortable. I feel ready to go. I want to play and I want to contribute.'
"We can't push him places when you have been out this long. It's got to be something where he is definitely comfortable and ready to play."
Nash added that the Nets' training staff also needs to feel satisfied with Simmons' progress before he can return to the court.
Simmons hasn't played for the Nets since arriving in a trade deadline deal Feb. 10. He was cleared for contact drills in practice Monday as he continues recovering from a back injury he suffered during his reconditioning rehab.
Based on Simmons' progress during practice this week, Game 4 at Barclays Center on April 25 is seen as a realistic target for him to make his Nets debut, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The Australian last appeared in an NBA game during last season's Eastern Conference semifinals as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Nets enter Wednesday's Game 2 at TD Garden trailing the Boston Celtics 1-0 in the teams' best-of-seven first-round series.