The left lower back nerve impingement that is currently keeping Ben Simmons on the shelf is the same issue that affected him earlier this season, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv and Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who confirm that the Nets guard/forward didn’t suffer a new impingement.
Simmons’ agent Bernie Lee, referring to his client as day-to-day, said he continues to seek answers on how to get Simmons past this health issue, which has affected the former No. 1 overall pick for multiple seasons.
“We continue to try and find non-surgical options to allow Ben to move forward on a permanent basis and that is where this is my responsibility and I am (the) one to blame,” Lee said. “When I began working with Ben I made a commitment to him that I would do everything I could to find the right answers and specialists for him to work with (in order) to move forward from the issues he has been having. Clearly it hasn’t happened, and that’s my responsibility.
“… Come the offseason, we’re going to implement some processes and outside input that’ll allow him to finally move forward from this ongoing issue and resume his career at the levels he’s established prior to being injured.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Knicks aren’t surprised by the strides that Miles McBride has made as a shooter this season, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who notes that the third-year guard is making a strong case for rotation minutes even when everyone is healthy. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post observes, the signing of Shake Milton will give New York another option in an increasingly crowded backcourt. However, Katz suggests that Milton is viewed as a depth piece and that McBride’s performance should keep him ahead of Milton – and Alec Burks – on the team’s depth chart.
- Celtics newcomer Xavier Tillman has made a positive impression on his new teammates, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com and Jay King of The Athletic. Tillman played just three total minutes in his first seven games as a Celtic (he missed four of those games while recovering from a knee injury), but has scored 13 points across 33 minutes and been a +26 in Boston’s past two games. “X looked good out there, man,” Jaylen Brown said after Friday’s win over Dallas. “It’s like, he fit right in. He came right in and made contributions on defense, got a few rebounds, got some stops. Offense, you could tell he got a good feel for the game. A good screen setter.”
- The Celtics‘ offensive success this season stems in large part from the fact that their top eight players are all reliable three-point shooters on relatively high volume, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger considers whether it’s just a matter of time until the NBA features several more teams that look like the Celtics or whether Boston is an anomaly due to the difficulty of building a roster that has that many shooters and still plays strong defense.