Sixers Star Ben Simmons Is Out Indefinitely: Report

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Sixers star Ben Simmons will be out at least a few weeks, and possibly longer, due to a nerve issue in his back, according to reports Tuesday.

Simmons was diagnosed with a nerve impingement, and will be "re-evaluated" in two weeks, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first noted. Apparently, sources are skeptical that Simmons will be ready to return to the lineup at that point, and he it remains unclear right now just how much time the All Star will miss.

Simmons suffered the injury during the beginning of their game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. He'd already been dealing with back discomfort prior to the game.

Without Simmons, who led the team on both offense and defense during Joel Embiid's absence, the Sixers will undoubtedly deploy a different-looking offense as they attempt to improve their playoff positioning.

They'll need a lot more all-world type performances from Embiid, who dominated, as he can seemingly at will, with a 49-point performance in the Sixers most recent win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Simmons has been crucial in what success the Sixers have put together thus far. He's putting together the best all-around year of his young career, leading the league with 2.1 steals per game, and again putting up near a triple-double every night, averaging about 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.

While there's been much doom and gloom surrounding the Sixers' failure to thus far live up to their preseason hype as NBA Finals favorites, they're 5-1 in their last six games, and stand just a half a game out of the 4th seed in the conference.

Simmons will be receiving treatment over the next two weeks before his playing status is re-evaluated.

They return to action on Wednesday night when they face the Cavaliers in Cleveland at 7 p.m.