The highly anticipated debut of No. 1 pick Ben Simmons for the Philadelphia 76ers is seemingly in sight. What restrictions will he face upon returning?
After suffering a Jones fracture (fracture of the fifth metatarsal) in his right foot back in training camp and being forced to sit through all of the games thus far, what can Sixers fans expect from Ben Simmons upon his return? Given the minutes restrictions placed on fellow rookie star Joel Embiid, how will the 76ers limit Simmons when his debut finally arrives?
It is truly anyone’s guess as to how Philly’s front office and medical staff will handle the newly dubbed “Fresh Prince” when he finally steps on to the court for the first time. You could easily look at the uber caution taken with Joel Embiid and paste it on to Simmons. It would also be easy to wave goodbye to a current season debut for Simmons and err on the side of caution by giving him the full year to heal and prepare for a doubly anticipated debut in October.
Play it safe?
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The responsible fan may kindly ingest the thought of not seeing Ben take the court this season and factor in the potential threat of reinjuring an already risky foot. For example, Kevin Durant, during his tenure with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was sidelined with the same injury at the start of the 2014 season and subsequently missed 55 games.
Durant returned in the expected 6-8 week time frame, and then required a second surgery on his right foot in February of 2015, thus ending his season. While using Durant as a cautionary example of how returning to the court too soon can lead to undesired results and further headaches down the line, it is safe to suggest that sitting Simmons out for the remainder of this season, especially given the tough odds of making a playoff run, would not be entirely misguided. The Sixers must ask themselves “is it worth the risk?”
If Simmons were to return directly after February 19th’s All Star game as expected, that would leave him playing in a mere 26 games. If you were to scratch Simmons out of back to backs, we are bringing the total of games down to 22. Can the chemistry the coaches and front office alike are looking for be formulated within 22 games? Is a potential playoff berth worth the risk?
It most certainly is, and given the current buzz about basketball in town these days, it’s difficult to imagine anyone griping too badly about Simmons only playing a potential 22 games. I, for one, am glowing at the thought of witnessing the potential deadly combination of an Embiid-Simmons one two knock out, if only even for three to four combined minutes a quarter. The ghost of Ben has been following this team all season long, despite the most recent success the team has been seeing. It is the lack of a superstar floor general with precise passing and jaw dropping play making abilities preventing this team from a full on break out.
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Meaning no offense to T.J McConnell, who has done well with his newly found starting role. Limitations are, however, limitations. Given Simmons’ body frame and rising status throughout his basketball life, it is difficult to imagine him not providing a huge boost offensively. Even more so now with the time off, he has been working on and developing his shooting ability, dare we imagine how dangerous that could be?
Trust the Process
Taking what we know about how the team has handled previous injuries, I don’t expect a different approach with Ben. I’m expecting a 16-18 minute game debut, holding at that for two weeks and possibly raising that to 24 minutes as the season comes to a close. While this provides enough minutes each game to begin building chemistry with Embiid, and the other potential starting rotation candidates, I suspect Brett Brown will be interchanging the rotation frequently to best suit his shiny new star. The sooner these on-court relationships begin, the better off the team is at the start of next season.
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While bringing Ben back this season may be considered a risk to some, I believe in the 76ers responsible and cautious approach. If the team truly believes he is ready to return, he will- just in limited fashion.