The Philadelphia 76ers have been without Ben Simmons for two weeks after he suffered a nerve impingement in his lower back against the Bucks on February 22. On Wednesday, the team updated Simmons’ status, and the news wasn’t particularly encouraging.
While the team said that Simmons “continues to progress” and “is gradually increasing the activities in his strength and conditioning program,” there was no specific mention of basketball activities and the statement concluded with the announcement that he will be re-evaluated in three weeks. As such, we know Simmons won’t return to the court until at least early April and that he will miss at least 11 more games.
An update straight from the team on Ben Simmons #Sixers pic.twitter.com/41diNnCP6n
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) March 11, 2020
The Sixers have gone 3-4 since Simmons’ injury, 3-5 if you include the Bucks game in which he played just five minutes before leaving with the injury.
The timeline given by the team on Wednesday would put his next evaluation date on April 1, with the next game after that period coming on April 3 against the Wizards.
The good news is that the Sixers have a manageable schedule over those next 11 games, with the likes of the Wizards, Hornets, Hawks, Suns, Wolves, Bulls and Blazers. The stretch also includes more challenging contests against the Pacers, Raptors and Rockets. You would think the team has enough to navigate that stretch with a winning record.
The bad news is plentiful. Most obviously, you want Simmons back as soon as possible. In addition, it’s concerning that there was no mention of basketball activities and that we were given another evaluation date rather than a timeline for a return. Finally, even if Simmons was able to return immediately after the next evaluation, there would be only seven games remaining before the start of the playoffs, not giving Simmons or the team a ton of time to develop some rhythm and momentum heading into the postseason.
Also, the team hasn’t inspired a ton of confidence that it can handle business against “lesser” teams even when at full strength, so it’s possible it could continue to stumble without its All-Star point guard.
For now, the Sixers will have to hope Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson can return to full health and help the team stay afloat as they await Simmons’ return and that he can get back on the court shortly after the next update. We won’t know for another three weeks.