Nets’ Cam Thomas cleared for increased on-court activity; Ben Simmons to miss at least another week
NEW YORK — Cam Thomas was cleared for increased on-court activity two weeks after spraining his left ankle, while Ben Simmons will miss at least another week with a nerve impingement in his lower back, the Nets announced Wednesday.
Thomas, the Nets’ leading scorer, was ruled out for his sixth consecutive game Wednesday against Atlanta after suffering the injury in a Nov. 8 win over the Clippers. The Nets said Wednesday that the 22-year-old guard has made “significant improvement.”
“He is expected to be integrated into team activities next week as he progresses with his return-to-play program,” the Nets said.
Simmons, meanwhile, was ruled out Wednesday for a seventh game in a row after coming up gimpy during the Nets’ Nov. 6 loss to Milwaukee. After initially listing his injury as a hip contusion, the Nets said an MRI last week revealed the point guard was dealing with a nerve impingement in the left side of his lower back.
The Nets say Simmons has begun light individual court work and expect his status to be updated again in a week to 10 days.
Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr., meanwhile, is considered day-to-day after an MRI confirmed a sprain in his lower back, the Nets said. Wednesday marked the second game in a row Smith was ruled out.
Coach Jacque Vaughn said Tuesday that Thomas, Simmons and Smith would not travel with the team to Atlanta.
Their returns would boost a banged-up backcourt that’s shifted starting shooting guard Spencer Dinwiddie to the point and used forward Trendon Watson as his backup in their absences.
Thomas was off to a torrid start, averaging 26.9 points through the Nets’ first eight games. The third-year guard scored at least 30 points four times, including a 45-point explosion against the Bucks.
“Of course it’s frustrating,” Thomas said last week. “I was playing real well, helping the team. We were competing. What was I, like number six or seven in scoring [in the NBA] at the time? So obviously it’s frustrating, but at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason, so I’m just gonna try to rehab as best as I can so I can get back to that level I was at.”
Simmons, meanwhile, was attempting to return to form after two consecutive injury-plagued seasons. The three-time All-Star underwent surgery in May 2022 to treat a herniated disk in his lower back. A nerve impingement in the right side of Simmons’ back, meanwhile, ended his 2022-23 season after 42 games.
Simmons, 27, is averaging 6.5 points and leads the Nets with 10.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists this season. The Nets scored at least 20 fast-break points in each of the six games the tempo-pushing Simmons played.
“These athletes, they want to play and they want to contribute,” Vaughn said last week. “No athlete wants to be hurt, and this is not something [Simmons] has asked for, not something that he wants. We were trying, at the time, to really get our group whole and healthy and form an identity together, and he’s a part of that identity.”
Vaughn continued, “Ben has brought an element to our team that is irreplaceable because of the style that he plays with and the things that he helps benefit our team in doing.”
Smith, 25, most recently played last Thursday in Miami, recording five points and five assists in 16 minutes. He reported his back issue two days later at Saturday’s practice.
“Wasn’t a tough practice, but he reported that he just wasn’t feeling right after practice,” Vaughn said Sunday. “He got some treatment that night and tried to come in, assess him this morning. Tried to go through a little bit of [a warm-up] and see if he could play. So we’re technically diagnosing it as a sprain.”
The Nets are set to kick off a five-game homestand this weekend, beginning Saturday night with a game against the Heat.
