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Ben Simmons Very Well May Not Have Played In Game 4 Even If He Dressed, Per Report

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Nets May Not Have Played Ben Simmons In Game 4 Even If He Dressed

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  • Even if Ben Simmons dressed out for the Nets in Game 4, he may not have played.
  • A new report adds another wrinkle to the bizarre scenario in Brooklyn.
  • Be sure to check out more sports stories at BroBible here.

Maybe, just for a brief second at some point prior to Game 4 against the Celtics, Ben Simmons actually did want to play. That doesn’t mean the Nets had to put him in the game, though.

Simmons was expected to make his Nets debut in his team’s must-win Game 4 against the Celtics. Ultimately, that did not happen due to his ongoing mental health battles and back issues. Boston pulled off the sweep and now we have to wait a full NBA season to maybe – and that’s a big maybe – see Simmons take the floor.

The former Sixer sat with his teammates on the bench throughout the first-round series against Boston, but after being ruled out for Game 4, he elected to watch the game from home.

Just when you thought the situation couldn’t get any messier, a new report from The Athletic’s Sham Charania adds a whole new dynamic to what’s going on in Brooklyn.

Ben Simmons May Not Have Played In Game 4 Regardless

Charania joined ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Wednesday and explained that he was told that if Simmons did decide to suit up fo Game 4, head coach Steve Nash may have never put him in the game at all.

“There was an expectation around that organization that at least he’ll be in uniform and available to play for Steve Nash,” Charania explained.

“I’m told that even if he was in uniform, there was a chance he might not have even played in Game 4 but at least he was making the effort, at least he was in uniform, at least being able to be present around the team, and he could just not get there.”

This is one report from one NBA insider, albeit a very well-respected one, but if this is true, it’s extremely telling when it comes to the Simmons situation.

Simmons is a 25-year-old grown adult man. If simply putting on your team’s uniform and sitting with your teammates is looked at as a challenge that “he could just not get there” then we may be nowhere close to this sad saga taking a turn for the better.

Maybe Simmons’ back did flare up prior to Game 4, or maybe he’s finessing the Brooklyn Nets for a paycheck.