Ben Simmons will undergo an MRI on his lower back Sunday after leaving within 5 minutes of playing tonight against the Bucks.

Adrian Wojnarowski Reporting:

Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons will undergo an MRI on his lower back on Sunday, league source tells ESPN. He was definitely in some pain tonight after game vs. Bucks.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2020

Cool. Let’s just put aside the absolute shit show of a game that happened tonight between the 76ers and Bucks. How did we let this happen with Ben Simmons?

Simmons, who was out with back tightness against the Nets a few nights ago, was available to play tonight and from the jump, something was off. You literally saw it pregame in the video the Sixers tweeted:

Let’s go to work.#PhilaUnite pic.twitter.com/8fc44YnjlR

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 23, 2020

Ben has some type of wrap, brace, whatever around his lower back. Clearly an issue before tip-off. Then he makes a layup – and is slowly getting back. 76ers get a break, and Ben runs awkwardly back to the locker room. d

Why is he even playing in the first place? Because it’s the Bucks? Was it worth the risk of causing a more serious injury?

He shouldn’t have been playing. Who cares if it’s the Bucks. Definitely not worth risking a more serious injury.

Things got even weirder from there. For whatever reason, the sideline reporter stated on the ABC Broadcast that “Ben Simmons going back to the locker room was going to be the norm” during the game.

….The norm during the game? What the fuck are you even talking about? Just one of many dumb comments made by the national broadcast team that started off the night with the normal out of touch Sixers narrative:

I’ve had ABC on for about 45 seconds and I’ve already heard:

– Ben Simmons & Joel Embiid can’t win together with their skillsets.
– Boston is the biggest threat to the Bucks in the East.

Gonna be a long night.

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) February 23, 2020

At different points throughout the game, Embiid seemed to tweak his back. Luckily that came at the end of a quarter and he seemed to be okay. Tobias clearly hurt his knee and everyone ignored it and at one point J-Rich was slow to get back. And now Ben Simmons needs an MRI?

I don’t trust the Sixers medical staff to do anything right after years of torture and lack of communication and clarity on any medical issue. Yes, I know the staff has changed almost yearly. It doesn’t change my feelings towards that department as a whole.

Secondly – this just flat out sucks for the Sixers. Ben has been playing tremendously. We were supposed to come back from the all-star break healthy, rested, and go on a run to get back into a top 3 seed in the East. And now this…

Hopefully, it’s not as serious as it seems or looks. Losing Ben Simmons for any extended period of time will definitely hurt the Sixers – who already struggle to create shots and play aggressively without him on the floor.

Fingers crossed.