Ben Simmons out, Raul Neto Questionable vs. Wizards
PHILADELPHIA, PA (973espn.com) — The Philadelphia 76ers are set to take on the Washington Wizards for the final game of the 2019 NBA Preseason. While Sixers' head coach Brett Brown intends on simulating a regular-season rotational lineup, the team won't be at full strength — not for the starters at least.
Similar to Tuesday's matchup over the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers intend to roll without their starting point guard, Ben Simmons. As Simmons experienced lower-back tightness after last Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic, the team decided to rule him out for Tuesday, in hopes he can return on Friday.
Unfortunately, that won't be the case. On the early injury report from Thursday, Simmons was listed as questionable for the matchup against the Wizards. As of Friday, though, the Sixers decided to rule Simmons out officially.
The bad news is the Sixers don't get a full look at their regular season lineup with Simmons involved. But the good news is that his injury doesn't seem to be too serious. According to Sixers' head coach Brett Brown, Simmons would likely play in the matchup if it were the regular season, but that's not the case.
As for the other Sixers who are injured, James Ennis missed Tuesday's game as well. But as of Friday, Ennis is no longer listed as injured. Therefore, he should be available for the Sixers to play on Friday, which is a great sign.
Unfortunately, there was a new name to appear on the report, though. Backup point guard Raul Neto has been added to the report as he's been experiencing left hamstring tightnesss. He is questionable for the matchup.
For Neto, it's a tough situation to be in considering he is battling along with Trey Burke, Shake Milton, and Josh Richardson for the backup point guard spot. The hope is that he can make it on the floor for Friday so he can state his last case of the preseason to attempt to earn the spot.