Nets star Ben Simmons was seen taking shots at the team’s practice on Saturday, but there appears to be no change in his return timetable, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. General manager Sean Marks said on Thursday he believes the best-case scenario is Simmons returning within two weeks.
“He’s still in the same boat that Sean talked about, still his individual work and getting treatment at the same time, so nothing’s changed,” assistant coach Jacque Vaughn said, according to Botte.
Simmons was acquired by the Nets in a deal involving disgruntled superstar James Harden nearly one month ago. He last played on June 20 — when the Sixers were eliminated by the Hawks in the playoffs.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether Victor Oladipo will back up Kyle Lowry at point guard for the Heat. Miami is listing Oladipo as questionable to make his season debut on Monday against Houston, but the expectation is that he’ll play. The team used him at point guard when it acquired him from the Rockets last season.
- Nets coach Steve Nash said he didn’t have any COVID-19 symptoms while in the league’s health and safety protocols, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Nash exited protocols on Saturday and coached his first game back on Sunday. Brooklyn wound up losing its fourth straight game, dropping a 120-126 road contest to Boston.
- The Knicks are continuing to search for answers at point guard, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York has mostly played without Derrick Rose due to injury, but former All-Star Kemba Walker recently decided to shut it down after receiving inconsistent minutes. The team has also given Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley heavy minutes. It trails the Hawks by six games for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Someone find the Knicks a map to the end of their bench. They’ll find McBride there.. got a handful of games left to see what he has in the NBA.
For real. Alec Burks is not a point guard. Thibs using him as one despite having a guy they drafted this year just sitting there on the bench is maddening.
Good point
That is the biggest reason the Knicks go down ugly this year
McBride should of been playing long ago. I really do t get Thibs on this. Only reason I see. Is he wants experience so he can win. But at this point what are you winning for. Winning is getting him ready for next yr. Winning is getting him ready to take over at PG. That’s Winning ……
Im really surprised Rose hasn’t stepped in here. Only thing that makes sense to me. Is showing these players to trade them.
That’s why Thibs won’t be coach long term, not flexible…. One more year as a coach of the Knicks….
McBride had a 15 pt 9 assist game against the Rockets… idk why theres such a love affair. I get Thibs barely plays him but his name gets tossed around like you’re benching Jordan.
McBride G-league stats.
29.4 pts, 9.6 ast …. Makes no sense not letting him play now. Especially since we want a higher puck in draft. It’s just such a waste. What are we playing for. If it’s not for next yr. Makes no sense to me.
link to stats.gleague.nba.com
Stauskas was dropping 50 and we know he’s meh.
Wow if Simmons can’t even take practice seriously maybe this guy is more far gone than I thought. First I’m hearing of a drinking problem…would explain some things. Hope he takes care of himself.
Really that’s where you want to go. Try sticking to ball first.
That’s a rude tone, Al. It says he was drinking at practice.
When non-ball things impact ball things it becomes part of the conversation. So yeah, I’m sticking to it.
Thanks for breaking into another— still another— nix article that goes nowhere and covers no new ground. Same names & news. Is there no other BB writing in the country? Maybe things are slack now between the trade deadline and playoffs.
Thibs has to be stopped now before he ruins this team further. The young guys need to play the rest of the way. Robinson, Reddish, Barrett, Quickley and McBride need to start the rest of the way.
Honestly wondering about Nash. He came into this out of the blue, is Coaching his passion? In the 4th quarter team seems to fade, it has been an unstable roster so that’s understood but haven’t always loved his 4th quarter rotations. If Tyrone Lue lost his job I know he would be coaching again somewhere next season but I would not say the same about Nash.
Nash’s team is in great trim despite an unsteady roster of players and many distractions. He plays who tries, that I can see. Bruce Brown has been a question mark. The rookie Thomas looks investable but he has a PER of 12 and he doesn’t bend.