Ben Simmons injury update: Nets star ruled out for Game 4 vs. Celtics with Brooklyn facing elimination

 After all signs appeared to be leading to Ben Simmons making his season and Brooklyn Nets debut in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, the Nets are now listing Simmons as out for Monday's potential elimination game.

Simmons played 4-on-4 on Monday for the first time since the Nets acquired him at the trade deadline, and head coach Steve Nash indicated that Simmons had continued to take contact without any issues. 

But apparently Simmons woke up with back soreness Sunday morning after going through a workout prior to Game 3 on Saturday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who added this:

After approximately 10 days of pain-free ramp up following recovery from a herniated disc, Simmons' admission at the team practice facility was met with surprise and disappointment. On the brink of a sweep to the Celtics, the Nets had hoped Simmons would be in uniform and active with the hope of coach Steve Nash using him in limited minutes, sources said.

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There's obviously an elephant in the room here. How hurt is Simmons at this point, and how much of this is still about his not being mentally ready to play, as he said was the case prior to his exit from Philadelphia? I'm not going to speculate on that, but you can bet these are questions being asked behind closed doors. 

I'll also tell you this: The Nets did not do Simmons any favors here from a PR standpoint. Delivering this news as another surprise injury report after a week of saying he was progressing to play puts the target right back on Simmons. Just say it's because it doesn't make sense to throw Simmons back on the court after 10 months off in a potential elimination game of a series that is all but over. 

Because that's the truth. There might be more than that going on, but that's at least one element of this decision, so take the heat off Simmons and report it that way rather than saying the team was "surprised" the hear Simmons' back was hurting. People are already questioning the validity of Simmons' claims. Why stoke that fire? 

Simmons' desire to actually play basketball again, when weighed in conjunction with his mental health, is going to be a major story over the offseason, but for right now, whatever the reason, this is a logical decision to sit him for Game 4. The series is over. Allow him to hopefully come back completely fresh, mentally and physically, for training camp and the start of next season, when Brooklyn can hopefully see some return on the massive investment it made in Simmons. 

Nets vs. Celtics Game 4: Stream, lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Monday

 

The Brooklyn Nets‘ season is on the line in Game 4 on Monday night, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Celtics hold a 3-0 series lead and can complete a sweep in the Barclays Center, where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for just 32 points in a Game 3 loss.

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The Nets won’t be getting any help from Ben Simmons in the most important game of the season, either. Despite a week of reports that Simmons planned to make his Nets debut in Game 4, Brooklyn has listed Simmons as out in the official injury report.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Nets’ win-or-go-home Game 4 against the Boston Celtics.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

Date: Monday, April 25

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV Channel: TNT

Live Stream: TNTDrama.com

Celtics: No players are listed.

Nets: Ben Simmons (back soreness) and Joe Harris (ankle surgery) are out.

Boston Celtics

F Jayson Tatum

F Al Horford

C Daniel Theis

G Jaylen Brown

G Marcus Smart

Brooklyn Nets

F Kevin Durant

F Bruce Brown

C Andre Drummond

G Seth Curry

G Kyrie Irving

4/25 Game 4 Preview: Celtics at Nets

 Before encountering this version of the Boston Celtics' defense, a healthy Kevin Durant never averaged less than 24.5 points in any postseason series.

The ability to effectively defend Durant and limit the superstar's impact are among the reasons the Celtics hold a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Boston can complete the sweep of the best-of-seven set on Monday night when they visit the Brooklyn Nets.

The Celtics, who possessed the NBA's top-ranked defense during the regular season, won each game in different ways. If they cannot close out the series Monday, Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston.

Boston received a buzzer-beating shot from Jayson Tatum in the series opener and overcame a 17-point deficit in Game 2. In Game 3 on Saturday, the Celtics seized the lead for good late in the first quarter and moved to the verge of the sweep with a 109-103 victory.

While each of those games were won differently, a theme is Boston's ability to contain Durant. He is averaging 22.0 points on 36.5 percent shooting against Boston.

"Clearly they're loading up on him, sending bodies to him, being physical with him," Nets coach Steve Nash said.

On Saturday, Durant's impact was so minimal that he scored 16 points and took 11 shots -- his fewest attempts in a playoff game since taking 10 in Game 2 of the 2017 Western Conference finals against San Antonio. That followed up an 0-for-10 effort in the second half in Game 2.

Following Saturday's game, Durant conceded Boston's defense was causing him to overthink things.

"I was just thinking too much to be honest, this whole series," Durant said. "Like how I approach the game. We got another game to play, another opportunity, and I'm looking forward to that."

While Durant's struggles are a key factor, so is the performance of Tatum. Tatum scored 39 points Saturday and is averaging 29.7 points in the series.

"I'm not trying to make it a one-on-one thing or a matchup thing. For me, trying to go out there and play as hard as I possibly can, give it everything I got on both ends, and do whatever I can to ensure that we get a win on any given night," Tatum said. "And everybody on our team is doing that, sacrificing, competing, being on the same page."

Tatum also is getting plenty of help as Jaylen Brown is averaging 22.7 on 50.9 percent from the field. Brown had 23 points and Marcus Smart added 14 on Saturday for the Celtics, who shot 50 percent from the floor.

The Nets are getting productive showings from Bruce Brown, who scored 26 points Saturday and is averaging 18.0 in the series. Brown's showing is occurring as Kyrie Irving was limited to 26 points in the past two games after getting 39 in the series opener.

Brooklyn will not be able to unveil Ben Simmons in Game 4, as it had originally hoped.

Steve Kerr criticized by Golden State Warriors fans for awful late play call that Nuggets' Nikola Jokic called from the bench

 While it wasn’t quite the death knell for the Golden State Warriors’ playoff matchup on Sunday, and it was certainly far from a sign that they’ll lose this opening series against the Denver Nuggets, Dubs fans were nevertheless up in arms over a questionable out-of-bounds play call that coach Steve Kerr made in the final moments of Game 4.

The play was supposed to go as follows: Andrew Wiggins would set a screen for Steph Curry, who could curl to the right corner to draw a defender away from the basket. At that point, Wiggins would cut to the basket and receive a lob pass from inbounder Otto Porter Jr., and Wiggins would then slam the ball through the hoop.

Only half of that ended up happening. The play was doomed from the start as Nikola Jokic, who was sitting on the bench at that moment, called out to his teammates exactly what the plan was. This likely helped Austin Rivers, who saw the pass to Wiggins coming, and interrupted the play to force a turnover.

But this play didn’t have a good chance of success even before Jokic’s call-out. First off, Porter Jr’s pass was far from accurate. It didn't help that Porter was in because Draymond Green fouled out of the game. Secondly, Wiggins had just shown that even though he had the athleticism to make a big-time slam, he didn’t have the accuracy to complete it -- he had just missed a put-back dunk attempt a couple plays prior.

Even more egregious was the fact that the Splash Brothers had incredibly hot hands at the time. Why, then, wouldn’t the coaching staff call a play for the greatest shooters on the team, whose shots would have had a trail of fire to them if they took place in a video game?

For what it’s worth, Kerr was also unhappy with his play call. Speaking to an ABC affiliate after the team's 126-121 loss, he took responsibility for what happened: “I didn't like my play call with 33 seconds left. I put Otto in a tough spot on the turnover so that's on me.”

The good news for the Warriors is that they have three days of rest before Game 5. They’ve shown that they can utterly dominate this Nuggets team, which had an otherworldly shooting performance, while Golden State was sloppy as hell in terms of fouls and missed free throws. 

The biggest arrow in the Dubs' quiver, of course, is the fact that no team has ever lost a 3-0 series lead in NBA history. The Warriors aren’t unfamiliar with being on the wrong side of playoff history, but even if some fans believe Kerr should be launched out of a cannon in response to a single bad play call, Sunday didn’t seem to indicate that there should be significant cause for concern… right?

Nuggets prove they can hang with the Warriors as they force a Game 5

 The Denver Nuggets had an explosive second quarter in Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors and took as much as a 17-point lead. But in typical fashion, the Warriors fought their way back and took a two-point lead with 1:21 left in regulation. The Nuggets responded with a 7-0 run to close out the game and won it 126-121. 

“When the game was tied we just stayed poised,” Monte Morris said. “We have been in a lot of situations like that with the game on the line, win or go home mentality. We were really poised on both ends but mainly on offense because it got loud in there so we were just trying to get organized but I think that comes with experience and we showed that tonight.”

Nikola Jokic was in pure MVP form and had another 37-point game. He also added eight rebounds and six assists. Morris finished the game with 24 points and was a walking bucket in the third quarter. He went 5 of 5 from beyond the arc for 15 points. He also hit a big time floater with 33.5 seconds left to give Denver the 123-121 lead. 

“I just told myself I was just going to stay aggressive,” Morris said. “It was just a matter of time. These are the same shots I’ve been shooting all year. I’m shooting it with confidence.”

Denver led for most of the game until the Warriors’ offense started clicking down the stretch. Golden State put together a 6-0 run with 3:31 left to get within three points. The Nuggets knew they had their hands full and took a timeout to regroup. 

“We went to that huddle with just a couple minutes left and we were all just yelling at each other in a positive way like we gotta close now,” Austin Rivers said. “We put in the work last game and didn’t get the job done and so now we’re like come on now we got to get a dubb.”

After the Warriors took the lead on a Steph Curry bucket, Nikola Jokic tied it up at 121 with over one minute left to go. Klay Thompson missed at the other end, giving Denver another possession. Morris hit the floater to give Denver the 123-121 lead. Golden State had the ball now and attempted to inbound it. Jokic was yelling at his teammates from the sidelines warning them that the Warriors were about to lob it and that’s exactly what they did. Rivers intercepted the pass with 31.6 left to give Denver another possession. Jokic came up with it, drove through the lane and found a wide open Will Barton for a corner three. He knocked it down to give the Nuggets the 126-121 win. 

“You get one [win] and it’s just a different level of confidence,” Rivers said. “When you’re down 0-3 everybody is looking around at each other like man we gotta figure this out and then you get one and you’re like ok we can do this. There’s a level of confidence that comes with winning.” 

Earlier in the season, Rivers was trying to figure out his role on this Denver team and on Sunday afternoon it was evident that his presence is felt heavily on the defensive end. He came up with five steals and a huge defensive stop in a must-win game. 

Another guy who stepped up was rookie Bones Hyland. He brought the energy and was not afraid of the big moments. In the second quarter, he scored 11 of his 15 points to ignite a 14-2 Nuggets run and give them a 40-23 lead.

“Fearless is a word that we’ve used to describe him many times,” Michael Malone said. “What a great experience for a young kid. Playoff stage, national stage. Regular season is one thing but you make your name in the playoffs. And I think Bones Hyland’s performance today just kind of showed that he is a tough kid mentally and physically and not afraid of the moment and we don’t win that game without him.”