Sixers might find a positive spin to Ben's injury

NOW THAT the foot injury to Ben Simmons has been absorbed for another few hours and reality starts to take hold and logical thoughts form, it's an appropriate time to look at the immediate future of the 76ers. Let the mourning subside. Throw away thoughts of jinxes and hexes and punishments for tanking (although the arguments are compelling), and allow yourself to calmly look ahead as to where this team might be going and the route it might take to get there.

Sunday, before players made their way to speak with the media, the public-relations director advised each to talk about how they are all still excited about the season and how the city still ought to be, also. While the loss of Simmons, who through a short training camp made a strong case as being the team's best and most versatile player, was disappointing, it's still an exciting time moving forward. The players followed their instructions to a T and no doubt it is a lesson that will be drilled into them throughout the preseason.

But this has to be clear: There is nothing good about injury, especially this one. Opinions among doctors and people around the league I've talked to over the past few days vary from the injury being something that Simmons could return from this season to something that could keep him out this season and hamper him for the rest of his career. Spin it any way they want with the talk of Simmons absorbing the NBA without the daily physical strain and the advantage of looking at games through a coach's eyes and the like, but in no way shape or form do the Sixers truly believe another injury to a star rookie can be more beneficial than devastating.

Did sitting out a year help Nerlens Noel? So frustrated was he at the end of his idle season that he was begging the team to let him on the court, even tweeting out a hopeful date for his return. He was able to pack on some muscle to his slight frame during his down time, but nothing can be pinpointed as a major change in improvement by sitting.

Joel Embiid will make his debut Tuesday in Amherst, Mass., when the Sixers face the Boston Celtics, his first NBA action since being taken with the third overall pick in 2014. His first year on the sidelines produced weight gain, some insubordination as far as following his recovery guidelines and understandable frustration. When another surgery was needed on his right foot in the summer before his second season, Embiid was handed another redshirt year. This time he followed the guidelines better, bulked himself up, was a staple in the gym and perhaps will reap the benefits this season.

And now Simmons, whose fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot most likely will require surgery and probably keep him out of action until, at best, after the New Year. "It sucks," said guard Jerryd Bayless, maybe even understating the importance of the injury. "But at the same time, he'll be back. It's just going to take a little bit longer than we all would have hoped. But it opens opportunities for other guys."

With Simmons down, the team loses its best offensive threat, a guy who can rebound, lead a fastbreak, throw jaw-dropping passes, get to the rim and make others on the team look so much better by getting the ball in desirable scoring positions. We all know about that. But what coach Brett Brown couldn't stop talking about on Sunday was how impressive Simmons was at the defensive end during training camp at Stockton University.

So where can Simmons being sidelined help the team?

"You just move Jerami (Grant) over and Dario (Saric) up and look at different pairings," Brown said. "I have thought about this all summer, how you make this group work. It was always going to be stuff you learned on the fly. You think you know but you don't, really. We've all learned a lot since Stockton. I feel like that foundation, that template, with Ben or without Ben, will remain the same. We will just fill in different pieces like Dario and Jerami.

"I think it's especially deflating because I thought Ben Simmons came out of Stockton just on fire defensively - really, really elite defensively. We have set our sights on a defensive goal and building our foundation there. From that capacity more than any capacity, we're going to miss him the most. The other guys, I'm looking forward to watching them play."

So your sights immediately go to Saric, who will start Tuesday's preseason opener. He also is 6-10 and, like Simmons, owns an ability to handle and pass the basketball. Might he just slide into the starting lineup and be forced to navigate his way through NBA life, ready or not?

"He's one of the leaders of this team and to get that injury before (the season) it will be hard for us," Saric said of Simmons. "We must go forward. We will try to play without him. Maybe it will open for me more space or more minutes. It's stupid that I would go into that position because my teammate was injured. I will do whatever the coach says, whether Ben is here or not here.

"In some ways, yeah, we are similar players. But he is faster than me and stronger. He pushes the ball in a fast way but I can do those things, too, maybe not at the same level. I can shoot the ball. We will miss him, for sure. It's a big kick for us when you lose that kind of player."

Saric will most likely get more playing time right out of the gate than Brown was anticipating, and the coach can observe him at a variety of positions. Perhaps it will allow Brown to more freely figure out how/if the trio of Embiid, Noel and Jahlil Okafor can mesh. Okafor won't play Tuesday as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery. Point guards Bayless, Sergio Rodriguez and T.J. McConnell will now dominate the ball more, and maybe show more than anticipated.

But as much as Brown glowed about Simmons' defensive abilities, there is no question his offensive talents would help pull out even more from his teammates. Can't you just envision the three centers being constant beneficiaries of Simmons dishes, no matter how their playing time is divied? Saric most certainly would be better off backing up Simmons, or sharing the court with him.

The best players make others around them better. Simmons seems like he's that type of player. That's why, until his return, this season will seem an awful lot like the three you've just endured as Brown again will try to figure out what he has. Because to expect too much out of Embiid, who hasn't played basketball in more than two years, and Saric, who hasn't sniffed an NBA game, just isn't fair.

Watch them grow and improve and learn the ways of the NBA. And allow yourself just a tinge of sadness.

@BobCooney76

Blog: philly.com/Sixersblog