CHICAGO - After a pinched nerve in the lower back forced him to miss his team's last eight regular season games prior to the NBA lockdown, Ben Simmons was slowly rounding back into form in the ongoing NBA restart in Orlando.
Through three games in the bubble, he has collected 35 points, 21 rebounds and 13 assists to keep the sixth-ranked Sixers (41-27) in the hunt for a higher seed heading into the playoffs.
Although his recent numbers are still down from the 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and eight assists per that he averaged when fully healthy earlier this season, the belief was that once he gets his footing and peels off the pandemic rust, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound playmaker will soon be back in All-Star form.
And then the clouds darkened. And the forecast changed quickly, cruelly.
A TV sitcom starring Danny DeVito touts that "It's always sunny in Philadelphia." Don't tell that to the hard-luck Sixers who have been endlessly soaked with a rain of injuries season after season.
Even coach Brett Brown, whose threshold of pain has been deepened by seven years of going through this type of agony, melted in reluctant surrender when he announced yesterday that Simmons sustained a lower leg injury and will be out indefinitely.
"This one stings," Brown confessed.
The medical term used to describe Simmon's condition was "a subluxation of the left patella."
In layman's terms, it means his kneecap went in a direction it wasn't supposed to. It hurts for Ben. It sucks for the team.
The "good" news is that Simmons may be back during the playoffs.
"He could be out one or two weeks under conservative estimates. That timeline allows the symptoms to subside and the player to regain strength and stability before returning to jumping and running," Dr. Brian Sennet of Penn Medicina told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The bad news is that rushing back from this exposes Simmons to suffering the same injury or worse.
Which puts the Sixers in a dilemma.
If they want to win now, how much risk do they want to take on the future of a 24-year old franchise player who just signed a five-year $170 million contract extension last July?
There are history lessons that Philly can learn from.
One involves Boston, Isaiah Thomas and his injured hip. Thomas played through pain and we all saw how badly that ended.
The other teachable moment involves Kawhi Leonard and his refusal to return to play despite Spurs doctor's clearance because he felt that his body wasn't quite right at that time. We all know what happened to Kawhi once he moved to Toronto and nursed his health.
I'd say let Simmons take as much time as he needs to rest and rehab. Who knows, maybe the Sixers would miraculously stay in postseason contention during his lengthy absence.
In the meantime, former PBA commissioner Noli Eala, an unrepentant Sixers fanatic, can descend back to his man cave and light more candles to stop his team's curse.
UNHAPPY ROCKETS. All 346 NBA players in the bubble tested negative for COVID-19.
And if James Harden and Russell Westbrook will be tested for happiness. both will probably yield negative results, too.
Playing basketball is supposed to be fun. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case with this cranky Houston duo who are always glaring at opponents and complaining to the referees.
This is why I never finish Rockets games. Their star players' routines have gotten comedic. And no one's laughing.
SO LEBRON SAT out today's game. The team said he had a groin issue.
Really?
Didn't he sit out because the Lakers have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the West, which renders their remaining games meaningless?
Just asking.
And oh, isn't this the same guy who once nobly championed playing when healthy while loathing load management?
Just asking, too.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph