Knee injury sidelines Simmons THE QUOTE
Keeping an eye on the world of sports during the pandemic:
Point guard Ben Simmons is seeking treatment options on his injured left knee, and the 76ers are unsure the extent of the issue or how many games the All-Star could miss.
Simmons, above, left the 76ers’ game against the Wizards on Wednesday midway through the third quarter because of injury, officially diagnosed as a suffered a subluxation of the left patella. A subluxation is a partial and temporary dislocation; the patella is the kneecap.
It’s not uncommon for such injuries to require a recovery time of several weeks, though the 76ers have yet to announce a timeline.
“Stuff is still being evaluated,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
Simmons won’t play Friday against the Magic, but Brown said he’s still waiting to learn more. Later, Brown said he was hopeful of knowing more sometime Friday.
Losing Simmons would be the latest big blow for a franchise that has endured many of them in recent years on the injury front.
But if Simmons is gone for an extended period, the 76ers’ playoff hopes take a hit.
The 76ers, who have five games remaining in the Disney bubble in an eight-day span starting Friday, have already clinched a playoff spot and cannot fall below sixth in the East standings. The playoffs begin Aug. 17.
Simmons is averaging 16.4 points, 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds this season, and his 35.4 minutes per game leads the 76ers.
Also, the Lakers announced that LeBron James would sit out against the Rockets on Thursday night because of a sore right groin.
James hadn’t missed any time due to the groin injury during the restart, but the Lakers are trying to be smart with the 35-year-old. James played 30 minutes in a loss to the Thunder on Wednesday.
“We’re just products.
It’s frightening. ... And it breaks my heart. Because there are so many people who care so much about our physical well-being, but I never saw caring about our mental well-being.”
— Olympic great Michael Phelps, co-executive producer of HBO’s “The Weight of Gold,” calling on the IOC and and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to address the mental health struggles of Olympians