Report: Ben Simmons 'Will Miss Time' for 76ers with Injury; Return Timeline TBD

Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons is undergoing treatment and is expected to miss time with a back injury, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Wojnarowski noted Simmons' injury is considered to be more than "day-to-day," though a timetable for his return to the court is unclear. Per Wojnarowski, a rehab plan and timeline could be determined as early as Tuesday.

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown addressed the situation on Monday:

Simmons was originally injured in Wednesday's first practice after the All-Star break. He sat out one game before returning for five minutes in Saturday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, but he aggravated the injury in the first quarter and was ruled out quickly thereafter.

The Sixers previously ruled him out of Monday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Without Simmons, the Sixers are in immediate trouble due to their lack of shot creation coming off the bench. Raul Neto may get the first crack at starting in Simmons' spot, but he's averaging 1.5 assists per game and has been a bit player throughout his NBA career. 

Alec Burks, who the Sixers acquired at the trade deadline from the Golden State Warriors, may be forced into a lead ball-handler role as well. Burks has typically worked as a secondary ball-handler and lacks the distribution skills necessary to run an NBA offense.

The onus may ultimately fall on Shake Milton, the second-year guard who had 17 points and two assists after Simmons went down against Milwaukee. Milton is more of a downhill scorer with the ball than distributor, but he can knock down shots off the dribble and has had intermittent flashes when given extended playing time.

Another option could be bringing back Trey Burke, whom the Sixers waived after acquiring Burks and Glenn Robinson III.