NBA Legend Sends Message To Ben Simmons Over Nets Debut Rumors

The Brooklyn Nets are one game away from being eliminated in the playoffs, and it appears they will still not have the services of Ben Simmons.

Contrary to what was expected, the Nets have not been playing competitive postseason basketball. The team is now a game away from elimination, and Simmons has reportedly been ruled out in the must-win Game 4, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Before the report, Simmons was rumored to be making his long-awaited debut in Game 4 of the Nets-Celtics Eastern Conference first-round series. However, Wojnarowski revealed that the All-Star point guard “awoke with back soreness” and will not be joining the team’s next playoff game. As expected, Simmons was heavily criticized by famous NBA personalities, including the Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller.

“Cmon MAN!!! Out for Game 4 when it was rumored you were going to make your debut,” Miller wrote on Twitter. “This dude has ZERO competitive [fire]... As small a chance as the Nets have to come back in this series, you still have KD and Kyrie, all you need is to win ONE game and take it from there... #ManUp.”

On the other hand, outspoken NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith made a good point about the apparent pattern Simmons has gone to in letting his team down in tough situations.

“I feel bad for anybody who was his teammate,” Smith said of Simmons on NBA on ESPN. “He quit on LSU, he quit on the Philadelphia 76ers and now, he ain’t showing up for the Brooklyn Nets.”

As of late, the only thing certain is that Nets’ superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been struggling to lead their team back to their winning ways.

The pair was both limited to just 16 points apiece in Game 3 and appeared to have succumbed to the Celtics’ defense for the most part. Nets head coach Steve Nash, meanwhile, stressed that things had not been the same due to Irving and Durant.

"Kyrie's fasting, and Kevin has had to play 40-plus minutes for five, six weeks after missing six, seven weeks," Nash said postgame. "We needed him to play 40 minutes (per night), or we wouldn't be in the playoffs. So, I'm sure that's taken a big toll on Kevin. He's carried a huge burden for us for weeks on end -- Kyrie as well since he's been playing at home and on the road."

"Fasting, it can't be easy," he added. "I go play tennis and I haven't eaten, I feel like I'm gonna fall over, so I can imagine how he feels in an NBA playoff game.”