| April 20, 2022, 1:16 AM April 20, 2022, 1:16 AM Brooklyn Nets star guard Ben Simmons was cleared for contact as he works to recover from a back injury that has prevented him from playing since being acquired at the trade deadline. Head coach Steve Nash said Simmons is “making progress” and will continue to take things one day at a time. “We’ll just see how he responds and see if he’s able to do more contact [Wednesday],” Nash said, according to ESPN . Simmons hasn’t played in nearly a full calendar year after he requested a trade out of Philadelphia following the end of the 76ers’ season last May. Nash said the next steps in the recovery will be running through drills at five-on-five and ramping up his conditioning and physicality. The coach was asked if Simmons will be cleared for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Boston Celtics but said it’s too early to say. Game 2 goes Wednesday in Boston. “I wouldn’t be able to say anything about that because I’m not even sure ho...