Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons has remained sidelined with an irritation of the L-4 disc of the lower spine, but there's hope he can return for a "couple" of regular-season games prior to the Eastern Conference playoffs, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
There had been an original target for a return Friday vs. the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said, but that became impossible in recent weeks based on Simmons' inability to go more than a day or two in rehabilitation without pain flaring up in the lower back and resetting his timeline, sources said.