Nets GM Sean Marks gives updates on Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons
The Brooklyn Nets will return to the court on Thursday at the Barclays Center against the Boston Celtics, but the Nets will be big underdogs in the matchup as Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons will all be out.
There was an alarming Ramona Shelburne report earlier this week that Simmons could still be out for “weeks” before making an eventual debut for Brooklyn – but the Nets may not have that time to spare.
Irving will only be eligible to play in nine of the Nets’ remaining 23 games, and the team has already dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Nets are currently only 3.5 games ahead of the No. 11 Washington Wizards.
On Tuesday, both Simmons and Durant participated in individual workouts, and Nets GM Sean Marks said that he doesn’t anticipate either player returning in the next two games – he wouldn’t rule it out, either.
Via the New York Post:
“All I can say is I left the gym right before coming over here and I [saw] those guys on the court doing their individual workouts.
…. Depending when they go, we’ve got to see how they respond to days like [Tuesday], and we’ll go forward with this. It’s probably going to be tough, to be honest, to be playing in the next three or four days. But we’ll see how it all plays out.”
The Nets host the Celtics on Thursday before heading to Milwaukee on Saturday. Brooklyn will then begin a back-to-back, home-and-home series with the Toronto Raptors on Monday, Feb. 28.
List
7 Nets greats named to ESPN's top 75 NBA players of all-time list
