Philadelphia 76ers: How far can the Sixers go without Ben Simmons?

How far can the Philadelphia 76ers make it in the postseason if Ben Simmons’ nerve impingement in his back is more serious than expected?

After sitting out the first game following the All-Star break due to back tightness, Ben Simmons returned to the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ prime time match up with the Milwaukee Bucks. Five minutes into the game, Simmons re-aggravated his back injury, went to the locker room and never returned.

A few days following the Bucks game, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the following news regarding Simmons’ injury.

There's no timeline for a Simmons return, but an evaluation in two weeks is more of an initial benchmark date than an expectation of a quick return to the lineup. https://t.co/HqCsag1jvx
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 25, 2020

There has been little optimism in Philadelphia surrounding Simmons’ return to the court due to an unclear timetable and reports of him being emotional following his X-ray. If this injury costs Simmons the rest of this season, it is necessary to ask “How far can this team go in the playoffs without him?”

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Regardless of whether you think Simmons and Joel Embiid fit and can play together on a Championship team, there is no denying the Sixers are better when both All-Stars are healthy. The loss of Simmons will obviously affect this team’s fast-break offense where his top tier court vision gets his teammates open shots.

However, a potentially more integral part of Simmons’ game that the team will miss is his defense. He has frequently been guarding opposing team’s top scorers and competing at an NBA first-team All-Defensive level this year. In his absence, Shake Milton has been stepping up on the offensive end of the court, but the young player is not a reliable, long-term substitute for the two-time All-Star.

If Joel Embiid returns from his injury completely healthy, and that’s a big if, he should continue to dominate in the paint as there is more space without Simmons driving all the time. I believe this team’s ceiling without Simmons is a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Without Simmons though, this team cannot expect to defeat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in a seven-game series.

Hopefully, Simmons’ injury does not hold him out for the rest of the year and at a minimum, he can return for the start of the NBA Playoffs in about a month in a half. He is a warrior and this injury must be somewhat serious to keep him off the court. In the meantime, perhaps the bench players can step up their games and prove to the Philadelphia 76ers that they are serviceable options for the depth needed during a long playoff run.