Sixers vs. Magic: 3 things to watch for in Ben Simmons’ absence

2. Who’s the ninth man?

The Sixers trimmed the rotation to nine on Wednesday. And while Simmons’ injury may prompt Brown to stretch his rotation back to 10, it’s important to evaluate who is the next man up in the second unit — especially if Simmons’ absence extends into the postseason.

Both Glenn Robinson III and Mike Scott are natural candidates upon obtaining clean bills of health, but in this instance, the name to watch is Raul Neto. It was Neto who received extensive playing time in the Sixers’ first two bubble games. The reason for his playing time was foul trouble for Shake Milton and Ben Simmons. In the absence of a key playmaker, Brown turned to Neto.

With Simmons gone entirely — and Simmons is, for all intents and purposes, still the Sixers’ backup point guard — there’s a good chance Neto is back on the floor against the Magic. He tends to rile up the fanbase, but from my perspective, Neto makes a great deal of sense.

Neto is the only Sixers reserve who can reliably run an offense. We have seen Josh Richardson and Alec Burks take their turns at point guard, but in the end, neither is equipped to initiate the halfcourt offense on a regular basis. Neto is, if not much else, a quality decision-maker.

In Neto, the Sixers have someone with whom the ball doesn’t stick. He’s a quick-witted passer, a savvy ball-handler, and he doesn’t commit excessive turnovers. He’s also a career 37.9 percent shooter from deep, so he can punish defenses when they inevitably collapse on Embiid.

He checks several important boxes, and frankly, he’s not as bad as people think he is.