Underwhelmed: Key To Philadelphia 76ers Season Is Steady Improvement

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Sep 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons (25) reacts after making a shot from the second floor balcony of the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex during media day. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Pre Ben Era

Following the news of Ben Simmons’ surgery out, the team must regroup and get ready for this pre-season. Perhaps this is truly a blessing in disguise. For starters, it will give the team to showcase players who may not make the cut to 15 for the season, building trade value to place them onto their next team.

It will also give the two other touted rookies, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, opportunities to build their own value and roles for this team. If necessity is the mother of invention, the team has fallen into the spot for both Embiid and Saric to lift the team up and move on.

But perhaps more so than either of these reasons, this will force the team to develop all players and opportunities to improve.

One of the challenges of adding Ben Simmons to this team is the risk of other players waiting for Simmons to take over a game. For a player whose primary focus is simply to get the ball and score, that’s easy to do. But in Simmons, the team has a player who will elevate the game of players around him. In his absence, the team can promote other players who may flourish in this new set-up. Perhaps an unexpected player or two will seize this window to exert themselves.