LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – The Philadelphia 76ers have no clarity on how long All-Star striker Ben Simmons will be sidelined after partially dislocating his left knee. However, to prepare his squad for the postseason, Sixers manager Brett Brown told his players to prepare for the worst-case scenario?
“No,” Brown told USA TODAY Sports after the Sixers’ 114-108 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday. “Everyone thinks different things, so I don’t want to be full of (BS) and say, ‘No, everyone thinks he’s going to play tomorrow.’ People know we were trying to play tonight knowing that we didn’t have Ben and we’ll learn more later. But no is the short answer. “
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The Sixers (42-27) had enough answers to win against the Magic (32-38), who will sneak into the playoffs as seventh or eighth-seeded in the Eastern Conference due to an end-of-season injury to Jonathan Isaac (knee left). However, Philadelphia didn’t measure up to that competition. She measured herself against the Eastern Conference elite, including Milwaukee Bucks (55-14), Toronto Raptors (49-18), Boston Celtics (45-23) and Miami Heat (43-26). However, the Sixers are in sixth place in the East for various reasons.
Their players have lost a total of 78 games due to injuries. Against Orlando, Philadelphia fielded their 22nd different starting lineup to explain those ailments and inconsistent chemistry. And supporters of the Sixers in Simmons, Joel Embiid and Al Horford haven’t always played to their full potential.
If the Sixers have fought hard enough before, how can they overcome Simmons’ latest absence? Despite all the debate about the coexistence of Simmons and Embiid, Simmons still averages 16.4 points on 58% of shots with 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds in 35.4 minutes. Although he only shot 2 of 7 from 3 points all season, Simmons still helped the Sixers with his versatility of position and play.
“It’s hard to replace Ben. He does a lot for our group,” Horford said. “The way we look at it, we just have to take it one step further. It will give the opportunity to the guys on the bench and others to make an impact. We don’t really know. Let’s just hope he can heal quickly.”
The Sixers offered a good first step against Orlando.
In a league that features more small ball formations than the twin towers, the Sixers have become unconventional by pairing Embiid and Horford together on the post. While Embiid finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, Horford completed it with 21 points and nine rebounds along with a physical toughness the Sixers desperately needed. Brown has chosen Tobias Harris as the team’s new forward point. This resulted in Harris tying Embiid for 23 points, as well as 21 shots and 15 rebounds. Brown touted potential other wildcards, and the last one went to backup swingman Alec Burks (22 points).
“Without Ben Simmons, there are things that need to be done on a higher level,” Brown said. “This starts with intensity.”
That formula may be enough against Magic. What about the Sixers’ remaining seed matches against Portland (Sunday), Phoenix (Tuesday), Toronto (Wednesday) and Houston (August 14)? The Sixers will face two of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference hoping to sneak into the playoffs (Portland, Phoenix). Then they will play against two teams that have a legitimate shot to win the NBA title (Toronto, Houston).
Maybe the Sixers could have Simmons back by then. He had just returned from closing the NBA healed from a back injury that had knocked him out for eight games before the championship suspension. Brown reported that Simmons gained about eight pounds of muscle during the break. During the Sixers’ three scrimmages, Brown presented Simmons in the place of power forward, and seemed increasingly willing to take and score 3 points.
No wonder Brown said, “I’m sorry for him that this situation happened after all the hard work he’s done.” Yet the Sixers almost resigned themselves to accepting a setback just as they showed progress.
“You’re just numb. You move,” Brown said. “You understand. Train whoever you have. I sincerely believe that this can galvanize our group and unite us in reverse.”
The Sixers will soon find out how much time they have without one of their best players.
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