Ben Simmons Page 8 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Damian Lillard’s injury, sadly, is exactly what the Trail Blazers needed
If the Portland Trail Blazers ever wondered what an unfortunate but well-timed injury looks like, Damian Lillard’s abdominal issue is it. The team announced Thursday that the All-NBA guard underwent surgery to repair it, and he will be reevaluated in six weeks, with a six-to-eight week timetable to ...

The Celtics need to wake up and move on from either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown
The Boston Celtics have one of the richest legacies in North American sports, but as of late, they have not been able to get over that hump to capture another NBA championship. In recent years, their two young stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have led them to multiple Eastern Conference Finals a...

Jordan vs. LeBron, the SEC, Urban Meyer and other things we’d like to leave in 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, we’re granted the opportunity to look back fondly (or not so fondly) on all the insane things that happened in sports this year, from the athlete anti-vax movement to the entire Urban Meyer saga, from the NHL’s near-constant blunders to the NCAA’s unprecedented coaching car...

Come on Daryl Morey, let’s get this Ben Simmons trade done already
Ben Simmons has yet to play a single game this season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The window for his full return to the team seems to have been slammed shut once Doc Rivers booted Simmons (figuratively, unlike Urban Meyer) out of practice in October for refusing to participate in team drills. Now th...

Of course the Blazers say Damian Lillard is untouchable
There are a couple of ways to parse the report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe that the Trail Blazers are not willing to discuss trading Damian Lillard, “one of the Sixers’ top targets” in a potential Ben Simmons deal....

CJ and Dame have been fun, but if the Blazers want to salvage this season it’s time to say bye to McCollum
It’s far from all CJ McCollum’s fault the Portland Trail Blazers are struggling, and currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference with an 11-14 record. His field goal and free throw percentages are down, but he’s still averaging 20.6 points per game and shooting nearly 40 percent from the 3-poi...

Every player can’t be the MVP, so let’s stop chanting it at everybody
There’s a growing trend that’s gained too much momentum lately in arenas around the NBA. Fans chanting “MVP” for any player that gives even a halfway decent performance on a given night. This isn’t meant to discourage fans from chanting, but I’m only asking if we can think of something more suited f...

Adam Silver doing his best Vince McMahon impression in NBA’s new deal with UAE
I’m not sure what’s more obvious: A media outlet taking the NBA to task for a multiyear partnership with the United Arab Emirates, or the inevitable controversy that will come of it. It doesn’t take long to unearth copious amounts of dirt about the UAE’s record and ongoing pursuit of human rights vi...

The NBA future is... WOWZA!
The NBA has never felt younger and more reliant on up-and-coming stars than it does today. Teams are beginning to utilize the draft more and more. We’ve seen plenty of tank-a-thons by teams in the last five years, and these efforts have panned out to varying degrees. For some, it has materialized in...

Who needs triple-doubles anyway?
Believe it or not, the Washington Wizards are in a three-way tie for the top spot in the Eastern Conference 10 games into the season. Washington is flying under the radar at 7-3, while teams like the Bulls and Heat get everyone’s attention for improving their rosters in the offseason. But the Wizard...

The Cleveland Browns have botched the Odell Beckham Jr. situation
Yesterday, I wrote that the Cleveland Browns and Odell Beckham jr. relationship can absolutely be salvaged, but Beckham’s father sharing that 11-minute video is a problem if the post is a frustrated father speaking for his son, who is also frustrated with his current situation....

Sixers fans chant ‘we want Lillard’ even in midst of worst shooting slump of his career
The 2021-22 season hasn’t been anything to write home about for Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard just yet. If you were present at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Monday night, then you know 76ers fans don’t give a damn about Dame’s early-season woes. The Philly crowd didn’t w...

I feel you AI, but let’s keep it 100, Philly fans can be something else to deal with
Philly’s favorite son, Allen Iverson, has been keeping a close eye on the 76ers’ dilemma regarding Ben Simmons wanting to leave town. Iverson gave Philadelphia the best years of his career and even led the team to its last NBA Finals appearance in 2001. There aren’t too many athletes who know that r...

Is a small-market, slow-build dynasty even possible in this era of basketball?
A single championship does not a dynasty make, despite Kevin Durant’s comment this summer that the Bucks were “forming somewhat of a dynasty.” ...

Even without Ben Simmons, 76ers’ collapse shows why they need to trade Ben Simmons
The second game of the season is hardly time to panic, so the 76ers shouldn’t. They’ve got a really good team, the Ben Simmons drama will eventually work itself out with either a trade or a return to the lineup and eventual “but what about the playoffs?” storyline (that would grate on everyone until...

Trae Young feels disrespected — and that’s a good thing
The Atlanta Hawks blasted the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener, 113-87, with Trae Young racking up 14 assists and Deandre Hunter holding Luka to 18 points on almost as many attempts (17). Afterward, Young had a message for the haters:...

Daryl Morey: ‘This could take years’
Philadelphia 76ers general manager Daryl Morey saw what happened Tuesday just like the rest of the world. He knows that 76ers guard/forward Ben Simmons refused to fully participate in practice and was asked to leave by coach Doc Rivers. He knows that center Joel Embiid is on the record expressing hi...

Daryl Morey — not Ben Simmons or Doc Rivers — should be getting the blame in Philadelphia
If there was a scouting report on Daryl Morey, under strengths it would read — “uncanny ability to never get blamed for creating disasters.”...

Deandre Ayton — and Suns fans — deserve better
Usually, opening day is met with optimism. Teams have yet to get blown out by 50, lose a key player to injury, or quit on a coach. (Well, except for that Ben Simmons situation.)...

Ben Simmons is going full James Harden, which you should never do if you don't actually shoot the ball
For those who saw clips from the Philadelphia 76ers practice on Monday, it would have been reasonable to draw the conclusion that guard/forward Ben Simmons didn’t want to be there. One picture showed him practicing with his phone in his sweatpants pocket, and in a viral clip he was dribbling a baske...