Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons says he will play Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks after he had missed the past four games due to left knee soreness, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
Simmons had an MRI on the knee last week that came back clean but he did have to have the knee drained. Simmons did not travel with the team during the first two games of their current road trip, which were against the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards.
“I feel great,” Simmons said following team shootaround on Monday. “It took a few days to get some rehab in, get it right. So I’m feeling great. … I’ll be in tonight. I think I’ve got like 20 minutes.”
Simmons believes that the knee issue, combined with rehabbing from offseason back surgery, has impacted his play early in the season, where he has posted 6.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists over six games.
“I don’t want to make that an excuse, but I had a swollen knee,” Simmons said. “It is what it is, but it’s taken care of now, so I’m glad I’m moving.”
“I think overall, if you have something you’re doing on your left side, it typically affects your right side,” Simmons said. “I had a lower right back injury, so it’s probably a part to it. But as time goes on, I need to stay on my strength in terms of left and right knee. And then obviously continue to do the work I’ve been doing on my back.”
