Many NBA players will return well-rested after a near five-month hiatus from the 2019-20 season. Ben Simmons will be one of them, according to Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown.
“He's good to go,” Brown said on a Zoom conference call on Wednesday, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic. “He's put in a tremendous amount of work for me to be able to say that… What I'm told is effectively 100% health.”
Brown had hinted that Simmons would be back at 100% strength after dealing with a pinched nerve in his back. He's been dealing with it since Feb. 22. Simmons was forced to leave the game against the Milwaukee Bucks after sustaining the injury in the first quarter as the Sixers came back from the All-Star break.
The Sixers played at half force since and kept showing their woes on the road, raising doubts about a potential playoff exit in the first round. Philly is sixth in the East, trailing the Indiana Pacers, as the NBA gets ready to resume the 2019-20 season with eight games remaining for each team.
Simmons will play an important part in the Sixers' playoff hopes. If he's back at 100% capacity and can inch them to the fifth or fourth seed, the Sixers can avoid a first-round matchup against a better-prepared Boston Celtics or the Toronto Raptors, who ousted them in a last-second game-winning jumper in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Simmons is not only the team's primary playmaker, but also one of the best perimeter defenders — likely to get a few nods as an All-NBA defender once the season comes to a close.
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