Simmons Injury, Where Do Sixers Go From Here?

Simmons Injury

Image Courtesy: bleacherreport.com

• Unless you are a sports fan who has been living under a rock, you know that the Philadelphia 76ers are now expecting to start the first 3 months of the NBA season without #1 Overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ben Simmons.  Early Friday afternoon, on the Final day of Sixers training camp at Stockton University in Galloway NJ, Simmons jumped up for a rebound in the teams final scrimmage of the day, but in doing so Simmons' right foot landed on teammate Shawn Long's foot causing him to roll his ankle leading to injury.  Word quickly got out on twitter via eye-witness Sixers reporters and the entire fan base began to panic, but the preliminary word was that Simmons was going to get "precautionary imaging" taken on his foot.  With such wording it was believed by many that it was just a light sprain and the organization would be careful with him in the preseason, but then a bomb dropped later in the day as the the team announced that Simmons actually fractured his right foot.

• As the weekend went along, slowly but surely, details would trickle out about the severity of Ben's foot and how long the rookie would be sidelined.  As I am typing this on Monday October 3rd, 2016 Ben Simmons has a Jones fracture on the 5th Metatarsal of his right foot and the team is looking to be without the rookie for the first three months of the season as he is to getting surgery later this week to repair the issue.  Originally when the fracture was announced there were rumors that it was an avulsion fracture (less severe) and not a Jones fracture, but unfortunately it has been confirmed by many sources that the fracture is the latter of the two.  It seems as if whether the fracture was avulsion or Jones the recovery time would be pretty similary, but the issue with it being a Jones fracture is the chance of re-fracturing the foot is greater and will have to be even more closely monitored.  Some believe the Sixers will be overly cautious with Simmons, which I do believe to be true, but some believe he should be sidelined for the entire season, which I think is bonkers...we'll see what happens.

Sixers Moving Forward

Image Courtesy: newsreportcenter.com

• With or without Ben Simmons there is a log jam at the Forward and Center positions in regards to this team.  Simmons stands at 6'10" and has the skills of a Point Guard, but a 6'10" Point Guard in the NBA is still considered unconventional, so had he been healthy he would have been taking minutes away from some of the other big men on this roster.  Don't get me wrong, we would all love to surrender another players minutes to have Simmons on the court as he is considered one of the best prospects since LeBron James, but I am looking at the glass half full in this instance and saying that getting more of our prized big men on the court can be beneficial for this team moving forward.  This upcoming NBA season is not expected to have the Sixers as a legitimate contender for the NBA Title, so the loss of Simmons now is unfortunate, but it can let the others grow and as Simmons will just be half a season late to the game.  

• In the mean time, the Sixers log jam at Forward/Center consists of Joel Embiid(7'2", 3rd Overall pick in 2014 Draft), Dario Saric(6'10", 12th Overall pick in 2014 Draft), Jahlil Okafor(6'11", 3rd Overall pick in 2015 Draft), and Nerlens Noel(6'11", 6th Overall pick in 2013 Draft).  Embiid(coming off injury) and Saric(coming over from Croatia) will be making their NBA debut's in tomorrow nights first preseason game against the Celtics.  

• Joel Embiid - If Embiid did not have injury concerns and played up to even half of his potential I would lock him in as the every night starting Center right now, but with missing the first two years of a career, no matter who it is, with injuries, you can not consider anything a sure thing.  Joel Embiid in his short career at Kansas showed he can play well on both sides of the ball but has an edge on offense with an amazing shot for a guy standing 7'2".  I do eventually think if Embiid can survive his first full season in the NBA, in which he will not play every night, he is the far and away front runner to be the teams starting Center for many years to come so I do not have questions of talent with him.

• Dario Saric - I actually believe Saric (unfortunately) benefits from the Simmons injury as the two have been compared to each other as having very similar playing styles.  Saric is more of a hard-working facilitator than a natural shooter/scorer but he does have a very nice shot, especially from the outside.  I do believe that Dario Saric will shift some of his focus more to shooting where he and Guard/Foward Robert Covington will eventually provide a 3-point threat beyond the arc for the Sixers generating more offense.

• Nerlen Noel - When it comes to an offensive presence, Noel is the odd man out as the others all have skills that he lacks, but Noel may be the best player far and away on defense (depending on how Embiid can transition to the NBA defensively).  I have always been a fan of Noel's because of what he can do on defense and how fast he plays the game, a quality that Head Coach Brett Brown likes in his players.  Though all of a sudden it seems that Noel is talking his way out of town, making it publicly known that he believes the team having so many big men on the roster is "silly" and that a move should've been made by now.  Part of me can somewhat understand why he is frustrated, he is on the final year of his deal and he wants to be on the court as much as possible so another team will give him a lucrative contract, but he has to realize talking disrespectfully about the organization could be detrimental to his next contract where ever he ends up because it shows bad character.  All-in-all this Simmons injury gets Noel more time on the court to start the season so he should not be complaining anymore.  I just hope that if and when Noel is not here anymore they can find a player who can rebound and defend as well as he can, but his skills today are starting to become rare.

• Jahlil Okafor - Okafor to me is a player who has good footwork his size and can put up numbers down low by putting the ball in the basket, but what worries me is that he is a liability on defense, plays at a much slower pace than the rest of the big men on this team, and does not use his frame as well as he should to grab rebounds.  In the Nerlens Noel vs Jahlil Okafor debate I have always been on the Noel side due to his defense and rebounding, because I knew once the process came together this team would have plenty of offensive players and Noel would make up for the lack of defense on this team.  I theoretically am still on the side for keeping Noel over Okafor but logistically it makes more sense to keep Okafor.  Noel is a free agent at the end of this season and could walk away, where Okafor can still be possibly controlled by the team for the next four years.  Okafor can also be the offensive replacement for Joel when he can't play at times this season and next or dare I say Embiid's injuries continue to linger.  I have grown to the thought of Noel leaving before Okafor and am okay with it for the time being, and I can see Okafor having a bigger impact later in the season with Simmons eventually facilitating the ball down low to him when he returns.

#TrustTheProcess