January 06, 2017
For the first time this season, Ben Simmons hit the road with the Sixers as they’ll play in Boston on Friday night. According to the Daily News’ Bob Cooney, the top-overall pick “ran some sprints, took some jumpers, defended one-on-one for a bit and worked up a sweat” after the team’s shootaround today.
Looking back, Simmons actually broke the news yesterday where seemingly 80 percent of NBA news is broken nowadays: Instagram.
Simmons’ rehab on his broken right foot does seem to be progressing, even if Brett Brown again refused to give a timeline for the Aussie’s return to the floor.
"It’s a sign that, we hope not too far away, we can start integrating him more"
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) January 6, 2017
Coach on Simmons traveling to BOS » https://t.co/hVxKU51zxE pic.twitter.com/XPPAYfigws
“Nobody really feels comfortable yet of giving dates,” Brown said on Monday. “I can tell everybody that he’s moving along just fine. It’s still obviously not to the point where he’s on a floor practicing, but nobody should be worried that his foot’s not healing just as we all had wished for.”
Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel know what it’s like to travel with the team when they can’t play (STORY HERE), and they were both happy to see Simmons on the road with them.
“That’s his first trip, it’s good for him to feel included with us,” Embiid told reporters in Boston. “It’s good to have him, and hopefully in the future, it keeps happening.
“Ben’s doing a great job,” Noel said. “He’s definitely working his butt off to get back, you see him start moving more and more. I think a lot of us, me, Jo, Jah, and all the guys try to do the best job of keeping him involved even while he’s on the sideline.”
Embiid, who didn’t practice on Thursday with the stomach flu, is expected to start against the Celtics tonight.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
