Ben Simmons was ruled out for the Nets’ game against the Warriors on Monday due to injury maintenance for his lower back.
The Nets, who defeated the 76ers on Saturday and received nine rebounds and five assists from Simmons, will host Golden State and the Mavericks in a back-to-back to start the week.
Simmons missed 38 consecutive games this season with a nerve impingement in his lower back, and he returned for one game — an 11-assist, zero-turnover outing Jan. 29 — before landing awkwardly while attempting to block a layup in the fourth quarter against the Jazz.
He missed the Nets’ next game — a loss to the Suns on Wednesday — with a left knee contusion, but he returned after two days of treatment.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn said before the game Saturday that he didn’t expect Simmons’ knee injury to linger.
Simmons added that while the latest absence was “pretty annoying,” his knee felt good.
He logged 32 minutes across his two games, and Vaughn didn’t have a timetable for when Simmons’ minutes restriction could get lifted — it’s based on how the star responded after each game, the coach said.
But Simmons has provided a noticeable jolt to the Nets’ offense since joining their second unit, and even though he didn’t attempt a shot against his former team in Philadelphia, he pushed the tempo and helped the Nets “play the style of basketball” they’re constructed for.
“Obviously, you know, he’s still figuring his way back, it’s his second game back,” Cam Thomas said. “But … Ben’s just doing Ben.”
Vaughn wasn’t ready to name Thomas a full-time starter even after the Nets guard recorded the seventh 40-point game of his career and continued a recent tear.
With Simmons coming off the bench since his return and Dorian Finney-Smith out, Thomas has started the past four games and averaged 31.8 points — significantly higher than his 21.2 mark for the season.
He made 14 of 26 shots against Philadelphia and compiled 21 points in the third quarter.
“I’ll see when we get healthy,” Vaughn said. “I’m not sure what our starters unit’s gonna be going forward, but right now, I think this group has put us in a position to win games. And I’ll always consider that as far as being the best option for our team.”
Thomas started 20 of the Nets’ first 22 games before Vaughn swapped him with Finney-Smith for a Dec. 29 game against the Wizards.
Nic Claxton grabbed 10 rebounds in the first 15 minutes against the 76ers, set a career-high with 13 in the first half and — with 15 total — finished two short of his season-best output.
Claxton also added 12 points and four blocks against a Philadelphia lineup missing Joel Embiid, recording his 19th double-double of the season.
“We need Nic to play like that every night,” Thomas said.
Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) were also ruled out for Monday. Dennis Smith Jr. (right foot soreness), who didn’t play Saturday after testing his injury pregame, was listed as probable.