Report: Ben Simmons will undergo knee surgery [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Aug. 8, 2:17 p.m. — Simmons will need to undergo knee surgery and could miss the entire postseason. Philly hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Simmons returning, but it appears unlikely at this point.

If Simmons misses the playoffs, it would obviously be a huge blow for the Sixers’ championship hopes. They’ve been able to win games with just Joel Embiid as the focal point of the offense, but their lack of depth at guard is an issue. Simmons also creates mismatches and is a terrific defender.

UPDATE: Aug. 7, 5:07 p.m. — Al Horford is getting the start next to Joel Embiid in place of Simmons for Friday’s game vs. the Magic.

We’ve seen the Sixers go big before and this combo has worked in the past. It’s more of a traditional lineup than the one the Sixers were running, so it could actually mesh well. Horford remains a very solid GPP play at $6,600 on DraftKings.

UPDATE: Aug. 6, 12:59 p.m. — Ouch, my bad with the update below, Sixers fans. So Simmons has been diagnosed with a subluxation of the left patella, a.k.a his knee cap. So he’ll be sidelined for the immediate future and is looking at treatment options.

So with Simmons out indefinitely, it looks like we’ll see plenty of Josh Richardson and Shake Milton in the back court for the Sixers. This is obviously a boost for Joel Embiid in fantasy. It doesn’t impact Philly’s place in the standings much. The Sixers likely won’t move up from the No. 6 seed but can’t drop any lower than that.

UPDATE: Aug. 5, 9:11 p.m. — Well Sixers fans, I’ve got some .... GOOD news! While Simmons did leave the game vs. the Wizards, Shams Charania is reporting that the MRI is clean and Simmons is considered day-to-day. This is a good sign that Simmons didn’t hurt himself too bad and should be back in the lineup soon. He could be held out a game or two just to be safe, we’ll see.

UPDATE: 6:03 p.m. — So yeah, this seems like just a precaution the Sixers are taking with no reasons to stretch Simmons out with a minor injury.

It’s definitely a good sign for Simmons and the Sixers, but still pretty tilting if you rostered Simmons in DFS (which I did). Here’s a look at the play Simmons appears to get injured on:

Philadelphia 76ers PG Ben Simmons injured his knee in the second half vs. the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and will not return.

Simmons appeared the injure his knee some time in the the second half of Wednesday’s game and the Sixers played it safe. He’ll finish the game with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 23 minutes. At $8,700 on DraftKings, that won’t get it done with only 24.5 DKFP.

Fantasy basketball and betting impact

After three quarters, the line is still giving the Wizards a ton of points and they don’t trail by much with the fourth quarter underway. It’s not a bad idea to get some bets in on that line in hopes Washington can maybe take advantage, but it’s still the Wizards.

If we’re looking at long-term DFS, if Simmons misses any time — which he mostly likely will — Joel Embiid becomes a chalk play moving forward. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get much of an edge in pricing but there’s a chance Simmons is questionable for Friday’s game vs. Orlando. As far as other options, a lot of usage will go to Shake Milton, who has been starting in the back court. We could also see a big lineup of Embiid, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, Mitlon and Josh Richardson.

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