Injury Updates: Simmons, Barnes, Trent, Collins

Nets guard Ben Simmons, who continues to recover from a back issue, took contact for the first time on Monday and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage, head coach Steve Nash told reporters on Tuesday (link via Steve Popper of Newsday).

“Yesterday was his first day of contact, played with some teammates yesterday,” Nash said. “He’s making progress, but there’s no real update. We’ll just see how he responds and see if he’s able to do more contact tomorrow.”

It’s another positive update for Simmons after ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Shams Charania of The Athletic both referred to him on Monday as “pain-free,” per NetsDaily. The three-time All-Star has been ruled out for Game 2, but it remains possible that he could make his Nets debut later in the first round. A pair of reports last week indicated that Simmons was targeting a return between Games 4 and 6.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

• The Raptors have listed forward Scottie Barnes (ankle) as doubtful for Game 3 on Wednesday, while swingman Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) has been deemed questionable, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
• Hawks big man John Collins is still experiencing pain in his finger and acknowledges he isn’t “at peak physical conditioning,” but he’s hoping to take on a bigger role in Game 2 after playing 21 minutes in his return on Sunday in Game 1, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I feel like I’m as good as I can be right now,” Collins said. “Trying to take all the precautions and all the treatments. Only thing I can do. Obviously, I’m still in some pain. But I feel like everybody’s in some type of pain this time of year, at some point. Mine might be a little bit more than normal, but I’m still trying to do what I can.”
• In case you missed it, there’s optimism that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be able to return in Game 3 or Game 4 vs. Utah.