On February 22, the Philadelphia 76ers head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in a big matchup between two of the heavyweights in the Eastern Conference. The team was a little hobbled as they were dealing with injuries, but there was one specific injury that everybody was focused on.
All-Star guard Ben Simmons was dealing with a back injury and it was a bit of a surprise that it was ruled that he would play in the game. He did not play long–only five minutes–and he then left as the injury got worse. He has not played a game since then, but the team does expect him to play whenever the season does resume.
Coach Brett Brown detailed the night Simmons got hurt on Friday via a Zoom call.
“That, for me, was as disturbing a memory as it relates to a player that I can think of,” Brown said. “He’s lying on his back, he’s vomiting primarily because of pain and trying to get him back on the plane and build him back up to some level of health where he can play basketball again with us and that timeline was always an interesting one.”
In terms of his rehab, the team gave him a medical pass to get into the team’s facility so he can continue to rehab from the injury.
“The effort that he has put in, given where he was, and the significance, the effort that he has put in under the restrictions that are all on top of us, he is to be praised and applauded in a real way,” Brown added. “The professionalism and discipline that he has shown, having that pass to get into the facility, he’s teed off on that. He’s been outstanding.”
It is that work ethic and his recovery that allows Brown to see a bit of a silver lining with Simmons right now.
“It could be a little bit of a silver lining of this pandemic just the fact that you have the chance to get somebody like Ben back into our team,” he finished with.
It continues to be a bit more clear that Simmons should not have played that night in Milwaukee, but it’s over and there’s nothing either side can do now except move forward. [lawrence-related id=31057,31050,31041]