Nets guard Ben Simmons was a partial participant at practice on Friday in Brooklyn, still recovering from a left knee contusion suffered in the final minutes of Monday’s 147-114 defeat of the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center. He did not play in Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Simmons was held out of live portions of Friday’s practice and was able to walk through different sets. He got treatment after practice and will receive more care on Saturday morning in Philadelphia.
Vaughn is hopeful that Simmons will be available to play against the 76ers, but he is still considered day-to-day.
“I hope to see him playing,” Vaughn said. “That’s the inclination for this group.”
Monday was Simmons’ first appearance in an NBA game since Nov. 6. He had missed 38 straight games because of a pinched nerve in his lower back. He finished with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, eight rebounds and 11 assists in just 18 minutes. Brooklyn registered a season-high 41 assists and had 28 points in transition.
“He was really out there with four shooters [in] all of his minutes,” Vaughn said. “And so that helped us have spacing and have a pretty good flow that even when we got chunkier sometimes, we were able to get in and out of those situations because there were four smalls around him. And whether they were able to play secondary action with some pace, I think that covered up some of the lack of practice time that we’ve had.”
FINNEY-SMITH UPDATE
Dorian Finney-Smith will miss his third straight game on Saturday because of a left ankle sprain suffered against the Houston Rockets last Saturday. The forward finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the win, his best overall performance in quite some time.
“It’s rough,” Finney-Smith said. “I don’t like sitting but I have to take care of myself. It’s just one of those injuries where you hurt your ankle and it’s weak, so it’s kind of easy for you to turn it again.”
Finney-Smith, who has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors in recent days, told reporters that he just started running again on Friday. He does not expect his injury to keep him off the court much longer. His next re-evaluation will come on Monday.
As for those trade rumors, Finney-Smith said these days it is harder to block out the noise.
“It’s a different time,” Finney-Smith said. “I would say back in the day it was easier because no one had social media. Now my kids, my daughter has social media and stuff like that. It’s hard not to hear about it, but it’s what comes with this time of the year.”
WHITEHEAD SIGHTING
Rookie guard Dariq Whitehead underwent season-ending surgery on Monday to address a stress reaction in his left shin. He was seen at practice on Friday, in good spirits, using crutches with his left leg wrapped in a cast from just under his knee to his toe.
While Whitehead only appeared in just two NBA games as a rookie, Vaughn remains optimistic about his future. The Duke product certainly has plenty of time to turn his career around. He is the second-youngest player in the league this season at 19 years and 185 days old.
“Everyone has their own NBA story,” Vaughn said. “It’s not always linear what your career is going to look like. And so this is an opportunity where he has a challenge in front of him. And he should look forward to conquering this challenge.”
