Ben Simmons likely to miss NBA playoffs for surgery on injured knee

Boomers superstar Ben Simmons is likely to be ruled out of the NBA playoffs to undergo surgery on his injured left knee, which deals a hammer blow to Philadelphia 76ers’ hopes for championship.

On Saturday, the 76ers announced that Ben Simmons will be leaving the NBA’s restart bubble at Disney World in Orlando and there was no immediate timeframe for his return. No firm timetable on his recovery is likely to be set until the surgery is done.

Simmons left the 76ers’ Wednesday game against Washington midway through the third quarter after dislocating his kneecap.

Tests revealed a loose body inside the left knee, leading to the decision for surgery.

The 76ers said in a team release that after consultation with the team’s medical staff and several specialists, Simmons will undergo the surgery in the coming days to remove a loose body inside his knee, which resulted from a left patella subluxation he suffered in their game against Washington on Wednesday.

Losing Simmons is the latest issue for the 76ers – a franchise that has suffered many tough breaks in recent years on the injury front.

The team went 47-199 in Coach Brett Brown’s first three seasons – the beginning of the infamous “Trust The Process” era – and then improved to 28-54 in 2016-17 and has since become one of the Eastern Conference’s top clubs in the three seasons.

Coach Brown said Boomers of Simmons’ absence that he genuinely believes that this can galvanize their group and bring them in sort of an inverted way together.

Simmons is averaging 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and eight assists this season, and his 35.4 minutes per game leads his team, which has clinched a playoff spot and cannot fall lower than sixth in the Eastern Conference whatever happens in the remainder of the seeding games.