Nets coach Steve Nash not 100% sure of Ben Simmons return for Game 4

While all signs have pointed to Monday’s Game 4 as Ben Simmons’ debut with the Nets, coach Steve Nash still wasn’t tipping his hand definitively with that just two days away. 

Nash said that Simmons scrimmaged again after the morning shootaround — a 3-on-3 session this time — and came through it with no setbacks. But he also was holding his cards close to his vest ahead of Game 3.

“I think it’s possible but I’m not sure,” Nash said before the game. “Like I said before, it’s not a normal return to play having been off for nine months and being injured as long as he has been at the back end of this, going on two months now I think if I’m not mistaken or more. So it’s not just, he got through three workouts and he’s ready to play. There’s a lot of bigger picture, bigger context — how he’s feeling, how able he would be to adapt to the environment. It’s a little different than playing a game that’s in the middle of the regular season so I think there’s a few factors at play to evaluate when he’s ready to play.”

Williams is back

Robert Williams III, who has been a backbone of the Celtics defense this season, returned to the rotation Saturday, less than a month after undergoing a surgical procedure to repair a partially torn meniscus.

Like Simmons, Williams was a question mark entering the series, but pushed forward to contact work in practice and was given the clearance to get into a game.

“I wouldn’t just say this week, but the buildup has been good,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said. “Like I said, he’s met every bench mark and has had no problems, restrictions, swelling, pain. And so after the heavy sessions, he felt really good. And so that was kind of what led up to it. And I would say even before this week, he was progressing well at all points.”

Upper hand

Saturday morning Marcus Smart described his reaction from Game 2 when he hit a tough lefthanded layup to beat the shot clock in the final minutes to help secure that win for Boston. After hitting the shot he raised his left hand and stared at it as he moved up court, teammate Jaylen Brown joining him in marveling at it.

“It was an unbelievable play,” Smart said. “JB, he just kept edging it on and prolonged that little celebration. I was just telling my left hand, ‘You a bad dude.’ JB came over and he agreed with me.”