Simmons has been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Nuggets due to lower back injury management, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports.
Tuesday is the first half of a back-to-back set, so Simmons is likely just getting a night off for precautionary reasons. Nic Claxton is the obvious candidate to replace Simmons in the starting lineup, but the former has been on a minute restriction to start the season following a hamstring injury during training camp. Ziaire Williams, Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson and Shake Milton are also candidates for slightly more minutes in Simmons’ absence…