Ben Simmons Ignores Question Regarding Expectations vs. Sixers

The Brooklyn Nets are in Philadelphia as they're slated to play the Sixers on Thursday night. Not only does the Thursday night primetime matchup mark the fourth time the Sixers and the Nets will battle it out against each other this year, but it marks the first time that Ben Simmons will show face in Philly since last year's disappointing Game 7 loss in the second round of the playoffs.

As expected, Simmons won't play on Thursday. As the star guard's been dealing with back soreness after ramping up his conditioning since the trade went down, Simmons hasn't been cleared to play -- and nothing about that changed on Thursday.

Despite getting ruled out ahead of the matchup, it's been made clear that Simmons will sit on Brooklyn's bench during the game at the Wells Fargo Center supporting his teammates. Therefore, Simmons is on the trip with the Nets.

The Nets participated in a shootaround at the Wells Fargo Center a little under ten hours before tip-off on Thursday morning. Roughly 30 minutes before Nets head coach Steve Nash spoke to the media, Simmons and the rest of his Nets teammates arrived at the arena for the session.

As expected, cameras were rolling as Simmons made his way through the Philly arena for the first time in a long time. When asked about what he expects from the fans on Thursday night, the three-time All-Star ignored the question. 

Simmons Remains Silent

"Ben, what do you expect tonight from the fans?" asked 6ABC producer Mark Meany. To no surprise, the question was met with silence from Simmons -- and jokes from Nets veteran Blake Griffin.

"Oh, the TMZ style!" Griffin yelled out. While Griffin and Simmons avoided answering the question, it is worth noting that somebody responded as the group kept it moving. "Asking that stupid [expletive] question," they said. "What you think gonna happen?" 

Whether the comment came from Simmons or not is unclear, but it's apparent that somebody within the group wasn't pleased with the question as it's well-known that Simmons will not get a positive reception on Thursday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.