During this time of quarantine, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Ben Simmons was able to recover from his lower back impingement that bothered him leading into the season’s suspension. In light of what is going on in the world, that is the one little piece of good news for Sixers fans.
Simmons has continued to rehab and general manager Elton Brand gave an update on his rehab in a conference call with the media on Tuesday.
“A quick update about Ben Simmons, he’s doing really, really well,” Brand opened with. “I give Ben and our medical staff a ton of credit for their hard work throughout his recovery. I give Ben so much credit for him working so hard through this unknown time. Fortunately, we’ve been able to arrange the necessary treatment and rehab he needs during this hiatus.”
Brand did add that he’d be ready to play whenever the season does resume.
“I’m very optimistic he’ll be ready to play if and when we’re given that green light to resume,” he finished.
Sixers’ Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid we’re allowed to use teams practice facility for some rehab, I’m told.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) May 5, 2020
“When I FaceTime him during his workouts, during his treatment and I see him I’d be highly encouraged that his ramp-up would be different,” the general manager added on Simmons. “We took our time, we’ve been methodical and thoughtful about his recovery and rehab just to make sure, because we weren’t in a rush. It’s hard to speculate, but he’s been working hard, and I know he’d be closer or ready.”
There was also one piece of interest that was brought up in the call and that is the status of Simmons’ jump shot that everybody likes to hop on and discuss. He did himself say that he knows that his jumper is coming and Brand added that the team will encourage him to shoot more.
“Ben is already a 2-time All-Star, a dynamic player on both ends, we’re going to encourage him to shoot and when he unlocks that part of his game, it’s going to open up for his growth, become even more unstoppable, and help our team,” added Brand. “Where he is as a player, he is very dominant, very hyper-focused on both ends to help us win, and he wants to make the right play. At times, he feels like that might not be the right play, but he’s going to grow into that.”
Whenever the season does resume, eyes will continue to be on the All-Star point guard in an effort to see how he does respond to the injury and whether he does return with a jump shot. [lawrence-related id=30493,30482,30474]