By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
With Ben Simmons fracturing his foot in the final day of training camp Friday, the bubble of optimism that had been building all summer around the Philadelphia 76ers burst faster than you can say fifth metatarsal. After we all grieved the loss in the moment (I personally blew off some steam immediately following the injury), attention then turned to what comes next for both Simmons and the team as a whole.
Despite reports out there over the weekend seemingly confirming that Simmons has a Jones fracture and will undergo surgery within the next week, Bryan Colangelo would not confirm either of those things while speaking to the media Sunday.
Colangelo declines to specify if it was a Jones fracture. Says it's likely he will have surgery, but not 100% determined yet
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 2, 2016
Still, even if Colangelo is being coy until the team makes a final determination for what’s best for Simmons and his long-term health, the prognosis appears to be that he will miss at least a few months, with some people pondering whether it might be best for him to sit out the entire season. While this situation is obviously the last thing the team and fans alike were hoping for with the talented first round pick on board, there is one possible silver lining.
Brett Brown mentions possibility of using time off to rebuild Ben Simmons shot.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 2, 2016
Given the fact that Simmons won’t be able to do any basketball activities outside of shooting, the Sixers may opt to completely overhaul his stroke, as his outside shot is currently perceived to be the glaring weakness in his game. Philadelphia did something similar while Nerlens Noel sat out the first season with the team following ACL surgery. Noel improved to 60.9% from the foul line in his rookie season after shooting 52.9% during his season at Kentucky.
The major thing that will help cushion the blow of Simmons’ loss is that the Sixers have another rookie lottery pick waiting in the wings to absorb a lot of those newly available minutes.
#Sixers Brown: 'Dario's going to have more opportunities.'
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) October 2, 2016
Saric is not the same capable of prospect as Simmons, but given what we saw from the Croatian star in Rio, he should still provide plenty of excitement for the Sixers this season. Having him slide into the starting lineup and playing 30 minutes a game at his natural power forward position, rather than pigeon-holing him out of position at small forward, is a decent consolation prize to watching Simmons bid for Rookie of the Year honors.
Finally, even though everything seems awful for Sixers nation right now, remember that Joel Embiid takes the court Tuesday night. That fact alone allows for some degree of celebration.
Joel Embiid will play in the preseason opener on Tuesday. Here he is knocking down a bunch of threes in a row. pic.twitter.com/E2yjwUIUkc
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) October 2, 2016
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