Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons’ left knee is becoming a concern
The Philadelphia 76ers should be concerned about Ben Simmons’s most recent knee injury.
Injuries are always a part of basketball, but re-occurring injuries can be disastrous to some athletes. The Philadelphia 76ers have a special player in Ben Simmons but is his left knee a potential risk to his long-term health and career?
Before getting into what is happening in the present day, it’s important to stop and look back at what happened in the Disney Bubble. The Sixers were looking like they would give some Eastern Conference contenders a tough first round matchup leading up to the resumption of regular season play.
That didn’t end up happening as many 76ers fans know, the primary reason being was because Simmons injured his left knee with subluxation of his knee cap just three games into the restart, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. He missed the rest of the time in the bubble as he left to get surgery to remove loose bodies in his knee. The Sixers as a result were swept by division rivals the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Simmons’ left knee continues to be an issue for the Sixers.
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Simmons was supposedly healthy entering the season, but stats don’t lie and his production on the offensive end is down this season. His 13.4 points and 7.0 assists per game are the worse averages of his young career. However, learning a new system and head coach in Doc Rivers could also contributor to his struggles.
Sadly, that wasn’t the end of his injury problems to his left knee as he was having issues with it during Philly’s recent game against the Brooklyn Nets. He missed the game against the Denver Nuggets with injury and is projected to miss the game against the Atlanta Hawks, according to Bontemps.
Due to the close time period between these two injuries and the fact it’s the same knee, the franchise needs to take it slow with Simmons’ return. There’s no need to rush him back until he’s completely healed up. If they do rush him, there’s a greater chance that he re-injures it again, which isn’t a good thing for him or the Sixers.
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The Philadelphia 76ers need to do everything possible to prevent this left knee injury to become a consistent problem for their All-Star playmaker moving forward. If they don’t, then it could really hurt him and his career.