Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons will reportedly be available to play in tonight’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Simmons, who has been out since spraining his shoulder’s right AC joint early in Philly’s 106-104 loss to the Utah Jazz last Wednesday, is poised to return to a team that has sorely missed him.
After dropping their third game in a row to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, the Sixers should easily be able to turn things around and end their skid with the Australian’s return to the lineup now that he is available, according to Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin.
Ben Simmons is available and will play tonight #Sixers
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) November 12, 2019
While chemistry has been a bit of an issue in recent games as the team has sought to establish a consistent rotation after adding several high-profile players like Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the offseason, the team should respond well with Simmons back in the fold, even with the Cavs being a better team than their 4-5 record suggests.
The LSU product has had some troubles of his own early this season, logging his worst shooting (49.4 % from the floor) and lowest scoring (13.1 points per game), rebounding (5.4 per game) and assists (6.9 per game) of his three-year career.
But, much if not all of that is due to the decreased spacing and as-of-yet-unsolved chemistry issues which have resulted from so many major internal changes.
Look to Simmons to put his passing on display against a relatively smaller and defense-poor (currently possessing the league’s 17th-worst) Cavaliers tonight, returning the franchise many picked to lead the East this season back on their expected trajectory.