Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons to Start at Point Guard With No Minutes Restrictions
Philadelphia 76ers fans have patiently waited for this day to come. This season, they would finally find out if all those years of tanking were worth it.
Ben Simmons' finally ready to play this season after a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot forced him to miss what would have been his rookie campaign last year. And it appears that he has fully recovered from his injury because Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo has recently revealed that he will not have any minutes restrictions this season.
Head coach Brett Brown also confirmed that the six-foot-ten Simmons will start at point guard for the Sixers because they want to take full advantage of his vision and passing ability.
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"There is a vision-line at 6–10 that he has that T.J. (McConnell) doesn't have. And so seeing things from that vision-line and then having the intellect to see things a little bit quicker than others is a powerful combination as a passer," Brown said, via Sporting News.
Simmons is not a reliable perimeter shooter, but they do have Markelle Fultz and J. J. Redick on the roster. Joel Embiid and Robert Covington can also make threes at a respectable clip, so floor spacing may not be an issue.
Meanwhile, Embiid still hasn't been cleared to play five-on-five.
"To be able to specifically tell you what I'm about to get out of him next week, I'm not able to do that now. But in regards to playing five-on-five basketball and when that can actually happen, right now we can't give you a direct answer," Brown said, according to Sporting News.
The seven-foot center did not play in back-to-back games last season, and they had to shut him down for the remainder of the campaign after he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee. Embiid played in only 31 games in his rookie year.
