Simmons’ Hype Slowed Down by Injury

The highly anticipated rookie debut of Ben Simmons will have to wait a little longer than we expected. Simmons suffered an injury to his foot that was caused in practice in early October and he has successfully had surgery to correct it. The timetable for his return has been pegged at three months (via ESPN.com). So, as bad as this is, it could be worse and we will hopefully get to see him play sometime in December or January.

Obviously, this injury is a depressing start for Simmons, but it may be even worse for the fans of the 76ers. Simmons was their golden child, their savior, the one that was going to bring this team so much potential to a fan base that is just dying for some reason to attend or even watch their team’s games. They may be getting used to being let down, with the way that Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid's’ careers have gone so far with injury, but this one has to hit just a little bit harder because of how much hype was surrounding Simmons.

It’s not ideal for Simmons to start his rookie year with a foot injury, but 76ers president, Bryan Colangelo, thinks that he can bounce back and still do some damage in the NBA.

“I feel very badly for Ben to be in a situation to start his career this way. But this is an injury that he should come back from and have a very successful and long career.” (ESPN.com)

One thing that has been getting speculation as a possible cause to this injury was the weight that Simmons put on during this off-season. He gained thirty-three pounds since being drafted by the Sixers and it was thought that that extra weight caused a little more stress when the accident happened in practice. But, it’s hard to think that the recent weight gained directly caused the injury because he was playing at the weight during the summer league and he was playing and moving just fine.

This injury can be a dark cloud hanging over the head of this franchise, but teammate Dario Saric has high hopes for a teammate that he places in high praise.

“I never played with somebody [like him]," Saric told Philadelphia reporters this week. "Everybody puts pressure on him, but I think he'll handle this" (via ESPN.com).

The injury is depressing and nowhere near ideal, but fans should still have high hopes for Mr. Simmons. It will make his rookie season a little bit more dramatic and that part fits right into this Sixers franchise. The NBA season won’t start the same way that it could have, but when December or January rolls around and Simmons is back, he will be ready to take the league by storm, and I think that is exactly what he will do.

#NBA #Sixers #BenSimmons #MatthewHandel