Ben Simmons did not play in the Philadelphia 76ers’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night due to a back injury. While the belief was that he would be fine, and the injury wasn’t going to cost him any more time, that did not end up being the case on Saturday evening.
Philly is in Milwaukee to take on the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks, and Simmons took the floor with the starting lineup as part of the highly-anticipated matchup between squads with aspirations of playing deep into the playoffs this year. But a few minutes into the game’s first quarter, Simmons appeared to tweak something, and when he checked out, he gingerly made his way into the locker room.
It was announced on ABC’s broadcast of the game that the plan was for Simmons to go do this and receive treatment throughout the contest when he wasn’t on the floor. After the quarter ended, though, that changed, and it was announced that Simmons’ evening reached a very premature end.
Ben Simmons will not return. He irritated his lower back. #Sixers
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) February 23, 2020
Of course, the major question is how, exactly, Simmons was supposed to play a basketball game and also get treatment on his bad back, and why that was viewed as the better option than “just let him get 100 percent healthy.” Regardless, we’ll keep you posted on whether this is a minor setback or something more serious.
