Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons adds bulk during hiatus?

Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard Ben Simmons adds muscle?

The franchise point guard of the Philadelphia 76ers has always been physically imposing standing at 6-foot-10 but has Ben Simmons even improved himself even more during this NBA hiatus caused by the coronavirus outbreak, much like his teammate Joel Embiid? The two-time All-Star appears to have added even more muscle to his already impressive frame.

It’s unclear how much muscle did he put on at this point and there’s a chance he didn’t add any muscle at all, but the pictures make it appear that he has gained muscle. Currently, Simmons is listed at 230 lbs and if he added 5-10 lbs of muscle, then he will be even hard to contain on the fast break and in the paint.

An increase of muscle mass would be a welcome sight for the point guard, especially considering that his two injuries this season were caused by physical plays. That being said, it’s not like Simmons wasn’t muscularly and defined prior to this picture coming out. Below is a picture from the last game he played prior to his most recent injury.

While he was already muscular, any additional bulk he appears have added recently should go a long way in what figures to be a physical postseason.

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Adding this extra strength makes sense for Simmons beyond preventing injury. It’s clear that combo guard Shake Milton has earned a starting spot and that means in the half-court, Simmons will be acting more like a power forward when the team’s not in a fast-break situation.

That means he will be battling in the low and high post areas, setting screens, and battling for offensive rebounds more often than what he’s use to doing. Adding a few pounds of muscle would help make those things easier for Simmons to execute and it would also help him as he runs the fast break.

It’s fair to say that most Philadelphia 76ers fans probably want Simmons to take as many jump shots as possible during this break. However, building up his strength should help him with other areas of his game, as well as preserving his health.