Ben Simmons returns to Philly as the Nets take on the Sixers in preseason action at Wells Fargo Center Wednesday.
We have been back for a little over a week and already, the Sixers are Sixers-ing. The entire Philadelphia fan base saw its hopeful season flash before its eyes when Paul George left Monday’s preseason game against Atlanta with a knee injury. Fortunately, George was diagnosed with just a bone bruise, and it doesn’t seem like the star free agent signing will miss much of the regular season. Sixers fans can now throw existential angst over George’s knee injury on top of the underlying angst over Joel Embiid’s knee condition, and move forward.
Tonight, in what will be the only preseason game happening in Philadelphia against NBA competition this fall, the Sixers take on a Brooklyn Nets squad projected to be at the bottom of the standings. The Nets are in full rebuild mode after trading away Sixer-for-about-20-minutes Mikal Bridges across the five boroughs for a bushel of draft picks. Unlike a lot of rebuilding teams, however, the Nets do not have any high-profile rookies they are looking to develop, as they didn’t have any 2024 draft picks.
One guy Brooklyn is hoping to reintegrate is former Sixers first overall pick Ben Simmons. Simmo the Savage has played two preseason games this month in his return from a back injury, recording 11 points and two assists in 13 minutes against Washington earlier this week. While I do still chuckle at the annual “Simmons is shooting jumpers in a workout” videos that pop up each year, I genuinely hope the back situation is behind him and he can get back to being on the court on a regular basis.
Across the Nets roster, there aren’t a ton of intriguing long-term pieces. Nic Claxton was re-signed this offseason on a four-year, $97 million deal with a descending salary scale that makes you wonder how much they’re looking to present him as a trade piece down the road. Cam Thomas will put up a ton of shots this year heading into restricted free agency. Vets like Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder will almost certainly be moved by the trade deadline; DFS is a guy Sixers fans have been keeping an eye on for about a year now. Former 10th overall pick Ziaire Williams might be the most interesting guy to me, coming over from Memphis in a trade this offseason.
Anyway, it’s good not to be a Brooklyn fan right now. As for our Sixers, hopefully the George knee situation was just the minor scare it seems to be right now and we can go back to less dread-inducing speculation. Such as…What do we think about Eric Gordon with the starters? Is Guerschon Yabusele going to end up in closing lineups? How much can rookie Jared McCain contribute right away in his rookie season? We have tonight and Friday in Orlando to sort through these thoughts before things begin for real next Wednesday against Milwaukee.
Let’s enjoy some exhibition basketball and follow along in the comments.
Game Details
Who: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets
When: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: The Center, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers