Jacque Vaughn Breaks Down Ben Simmons Calf Strain And Next Steps
The Brooklyn Nets have ruled point-forward Ben Simmons out for at least the next three games with a left lateral calf strain. He is slated to be reassessed after the three-game mark. Brooklyn's next three opponents (excluding Wednesday's game against the Washington Wizards) are the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and the Charlotte Hornets.
“He's out the next three games," said Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn on Simmons' calf strain injury. "And that's what we are and then we'll get to a point where we'll take a look at him after that. But ended up being an upper calf strain. We'll see where he's at after these three games that he’ll miss.”
The diagnosis of a left lateral calf strain comes after further imaging of Simmons' knee. The Nets head coach said the 26-year-old's pain came from the back of his left knee which ended up being his upper calf.
“It’s the knee but the back of the knee. He was grabbing his knee during the game and said he needs to come out. It ended up being the back of the knee," said Vaughn breaking down Simmons' injury location. "So it's the upper part of the calf which ended up being diagnosed after we took some imaging.”
The Nets head coach previously mentioned that the accumulation of games and Simmons' heavy load across the five games in seven days played a factor in the injury re-aggravation. Vaughn, who still mentioned his load across the last seven games, serving as a catalyst, stated that the point forward isn't sure how his calf strain occurred.
Moving forward, the Nets are expected to take a very cautious approach when Simmons does return to the hardwood. Those cautious measures can include resting him on back-to-backs and implementing a foreseeable minute restriction.
“I don't know if we can pinpoint and say it was one thing or another. It could have been accumulation of games. We had five and seven. That could have definitely contributed to it," Vaughn said.
"He doesn't remember a specific event that happened in the game. So I think it's on us to be smart when he does come back. Does that mean minute-restriction? Maybe so. Does that mean not playing back the backs? Maybe so. Nothing is out of the realm of considering what's best for the team, which we'll always consider," the Nets head coach added. "But we want each individual to be available to play every single game. That's the goal.”
Simmons, who previously missed a total of five games due to left knee soreness, was finding himself and taking his play to the next level in his injury return. He was averaging 11.9 points on 75.0 percent shooting to pair with 7.1 boards.
Vaughn expressed that Simmons is in good spirits after his latest injury woes. The two spent 15 minutes with each other before Vaughn addressed the media pregame. The Nets head coach laid out the next steps for Simmons while he gets past his calf strain.
“We just spent 15 minutes together after shooting around just he and I and it was good. So we talked about what happens through this process. So the extra games that you're not playing and my reiteration of the consistency and the habits in between this time of treatment, recovery, and staying locked into your teammates, continue to converse with me what we're doing well and what we're not doing well."
