Brooklyn Nets player Ben Simmons has not played at all this season. His contract disputes with the 76ers were all over the sports pages last year. He missed his former team’s training camp and also put his house on sale to force a move. He was finally traded to the Nets this year but ended up getting diagnosed with a herniated disc in the back. This led to him missing the rest of the regular season and the play-in tournament.

But news has floated that Simmons might just come back for the playoff matches against the Boston Celtics. Journalist and insider Shams Charania said that the Nets player is targeting a return within Games 4-6 of the first round of the playoff series. The availability of Simmons boosts Nets chances against the Celtics.

Nets already have the very potent offensive duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. In their last match against the Cavaliers, both combined to get almost 50 points and 23 assists. However, Brooklyn’s defense has leaked points on the other end. Due to their poor defense, they won the play-in game against the Cavaliers by just seven points (108-115).

Ben Simmons as a defender

The availability of Simmons will definitely help the defense on the other end. He was selected for the NBA All-Defensive team in 2020 and 2021. Simmons led the league in steals two years back. He also had a defensive rating of 106.1 which is tied fourth in the NBA and his 3.3 defensive win shares made him tied sixth. The game against the Hawks last year is a prime example of his prowess.

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He guarded Trae Young in the 2nd game which led to the latter conceding four turnovers. Young scored just four points and had a 2/5 FG against Simmons. The defensive combination of Simmons and Matise Thybulle stopped Young on his tracks.

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His offensive numbers have decreased though. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.9 assists, and 7.2 rebounds last season – good numbers but way below what the player can produce. Do the Nets need him offensively? Not exactly as the Nets score 113 points per game. In their last three games, they scored an average of 122 points. Their defense, though, concedes 112 points on an average which makes it vital for Simmons to be at his defensive best.

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Will Simmons affect the Nets’ playoff chances? Will he be the same defensive juggernaut? Brooklyn will hope that he comes back to boost their playoff chances against the Celtics.