Philadelphia 76ers guard/forward Ben Simmons missed Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets due to illness. Head coach Doc Rivers told reporters prior to the game that he believes Simmons has the flu and made clear that his illness is unrelated to COVID-19. Simmons was listed on the pregame injury report as questionable with an illness before Rivers shared the news.
The 24-year-old Simmons has averaged 15.2 points, 8.0 assists and 8.3 rebounds for the 18-10 76ers. Simmons and the 76ers have jumped out to lead the Eastern Conference this season. Simmons did miss a pair of games on January 9 and 11 due to a knee injury, but he was able to return to the lineup on Jan. 12. He also miss play time due to left calf tightness on Thursday, Feb. 4, but he returned two days later to face the Brooklyn Nets.