Ben Simmons brings healthy attitude in return to Nets lineup

Ben Simmons arrived at Barclays Center on Friday looking to pick up where he’d left off.

The Nets’ 6-10 swingman was rediscovering his all-star form in November. Then he got sidelined by a calf strain and missed the past four games. Simmons was cleared to return to the floor on Thursday and was back in the starting lineup to face the Hawks at Barclays Center in the final contest of a seven-game homestand.

He’d struggled at the start of the season, back after missing all of 2021-22 with back and mental health issues, and over a seven-game stretch was averaging 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.1 assistsbefore he got hurt in the Nov. 28 contest against the Hornets.

“That part was frustrating,” Simmons said before tip-off against Atlanta. “That’s the sport. It’s my chance now to go back out there again and perform and help the team win.”

Simmons' return -- along with coach Jacque Vaughn saying that Yuta Watanabe will be back Saturday from a right hamstring strain that forced him to miss his 10th straight game Friday -- made for a good news day. It wasn’t all good though. Center Nic Claxton was out against the Hawks after feeling right hamstring tightness on Thursday; it doesn’t appear to be serious.

It’s not going to be right back to playing 30-plus minutes for Simmons as the Nets plan to bring him along with caution. Vaughn was asked about limitations and replied “we’ll see what that feels like – probably in the 20-ish [minute] range but it’s not a concrete number – but we’ll be smart about it for sure.”

He added that Simmons’ Friday appearance would rule him out for Saturday’s road game against the Indiana Pacers.

Simmons was confident about his injury being healed but said that “when you come back from an injury, you have to go overboard on recovery.”

The Nets haven’t exactly been a plodding team without Simmons, however his return should allow them to play a desired faster brand of basketball. Vaughn said the with Simmons in the lineup “we’ll see how we can create pace but also get the ball in the hands of our scorers. . . . we know we’ll be able to play faster and at a higher tempo and pace with him.”

Claxton is averaging 11.8 points and team-high 8.7 rebounds, and he’s been equally valuable with an athleticism on defense that makes him effective guarding all five positions and allows the Nets to make defensive switches more easily.

“It puts the onus on other guys to really fill that void a little bit,” Vaughn sad. “He is definitely unique.”

“Without him, we’re going to have to rebound the ball and be quick on our switches,” Simmons said. “When we don’t have that rim protector, we have to step up in covering the ball.”

Claxton had trouble discerning when the injury might have occurred. It wasn’t an issue in Wednesday night’s home win against Charlotte. And the Nets didn’t schedule him for any medical tests like an MRI exam. Claxton described the hamstring issue as “day-to-day” and “not serious.”

Nets notes: In the fourth quarter of the Nets’ Wednesday victory, they used a pick-and-roll play with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to great effect and Vaughn called it “a big reason we won the game.” He added it would be employed only as a late-game strategy. “It won’t happen before halftime where they can make adjustments at halftime,” he said. . . . With the 34-year-old Durant second in the league in minutes played entering play Friday, reducing his time on the court has become a priority. Vaughn suggested maintaining focus with a lead would be essential and said “Can you stay engaged in the course of the game and maybe Kevin can have the fourth quarter off? . . . That’s the challenge to this group.” . . . Dejounte Murray has joined the list of unavailable Hawks after suffering an ankle sprain in Wednesday night's loss to the Knicks. He was averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Atlanta also did not have forwards John Collins (ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (hip). Murray is expected to miss at least two weeks.

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.