Ben Simmons out indefinitely
Well this sure is a sucker punch to the nads…
Just as the Sixers seemed to be building momentum towards a post-All-Star run, disaster strikes. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ben Simmons is expected to be out an undetermined amount of time due to a back injury. The Sixers will make a statement within the next 24 hours as to what their next course of action will be
ESPN Sources: Sixers star Ben Simmons is still undergoing treatment and evaluation on his back and there’s expected to be a course of action decided upon soon. This isn’t a day-to-day injury; Simmons will miss time. How much time? That’s still unclear.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 24, 2020
Simmons was held out of the team’s 112-104 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets due to lower back tightness. He was then cleared to play in Milwaukee against the Bucks just two nights later. Simmons managed to play only five minutes before further aggravating the injury.
This news carries with it a lot of weight. For starters, the Sixers are now without – arguably – their most important player during the most important stretch of the season. This team struggles to create quality shots when Simmons is healthy, now they must navigate life without the league’s best three-point shot creator. Not only that, they are also without their best perimeter defender as well.
Brett Brown said on Monday that it is unlikely one player takes over the starting point guard duties in Simmons’ absence. This shouldn’t be all that surprising considering the pool of candidates to replace the Sixers’ All-Star point guard. Josh Richardson, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, Alec Burks, and Raul Neto will all likely see increased roles as ball handlers. Milton got the first crack at the starting job Monday night in the Sixers 129-112 win over the Atlanta Hawks with Richardson closing at point. Neither seemed to separate themselves as a go-to guy, but they each had their moments. Here’s hoping Simmons a quick rehab process.
The other major issue with this news is accountability. This injury was essentially self-inflicted. The Sixers’ management and medical staff should’ve taken the severity of Simmons’ injury much more seriously. Their plan to have Simmons play against the Bucks and receive treatment during breaks was asinine and went about as poorly as one might expect. The team valued an unimportant Saturday night prime time game in late February over the long-term health of one of their star players. The worst part, it isn’t even their first time doing it.
This short-sighted decision is just one in a long string of ownership and managerial ineptitude that has plagued the Sixers since the resignation of Sam Hinkie. This is the cherry on top of the turd sundae that has been the 2019-2020 Sixers. Ownership and management failed to build a roster that could best compliment their star players and now they can’t even keep them healthy.
Oh yeah, and they just raised ticket prices for next season. Thanks again for all your hard work, Josh Harris.
