Sixers

March 10th Watch: Ben Simmons Ain’t Even Close to Playing

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 3rd, 2022 · 3:07 PM EST

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If you bought tickets to see Ben Simmons on March 10th, there is 99.99999999999999% he won’t be playing:

Sean Marks sets the record straight on when Ben Simmons could be ready for game action.

Don't miss the full exclusive Sean Marks interview tonight at 7pm on YES: https://t.co/0cgHA8Q6LU pic.twitter.com/K68vsUx5ws

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 3, 2022

I say 99.99999999% because he has not been officially ruled out, but the chances are slimmer than Jim Carrey getting with Bucks County native Lauren Holly in Dumb and Dumber.

The back injury story is pretty similar to the mental health thing, isn’t it? Both are inherently plausible, the former because Simmons did have back issues in Philadelphia, and the latter because I’m sure he was dealing with some shit at the same time. He had the tough public issue with his sister, and the pressure of playing in front of Philly fans, and being the #1 overall pick, etc. But the TIMING of both of these things moving from the back burner to the front burner is awfully suspect! In the case of mental health, we didn’t hear anything about it until the Sixers began escrowing Ben’s money. And in the case of the back, we didn’t hear about that until the Sixers were a few weeks out on the schedule.

Ben has been working out all year long. He has not been playing in games. He’s had the entire year to slowly ramp up toward the trade deadline, knowing he would probably be moved. But ALL OF A SUDDEN, his back hurts. He probably tweaked it reaching for the Playstation controller. This is all poppycock and hogwash. It’s balderdash. Like Sir Smoke-a-Lot in Half Baked, Simmons may need a backiotomy.