Nets’ Ben Simmons available Monday against Jazz

The Brooklyn Nets will be facing off against the Utah Jazz on Monday at Barclays Center for the second meeting between the teams this season. While this is just a regular-season game in January, it also represents the moment that everyone inside and outside of the Nets organization has been waiting months for.

The Nets announced right before noon on Monday that Ben Simmons, who was previously listed as probable for Monday’s contest, is now listed as available. Simmons has not played since Nov. 6 when he initially suffered what was described as a hip issue before further evaluation found that Simmons actually had a nerve impingement in his lower left back.

Since then, Simmons has been rehabbing and while it seemed that the chances of the Aussie returning before the trade deadline was small, he managed to get back before then. Now, Simmons, who was one of the players that the front office had in mind when it came to building this current roster, will finally be able to play with this group again.

Given how much time Simmons has missed with his injury, he will most likely be on a minutes restriction. However, no matter how little he plays, everyone is just excited to have Simmons back on the court in any capacity given how the season has gone lately.

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire