Sixers' Ben Simmons Available to Play Against Bucks on Saturday

Sixers point guard Ben Simmons has been made available to play against the Bucks on Saturday.

The absence of Ben Simmons on Thursday issued a problematic situation for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Fortunately, the team managed to come away with a win against the Brooklyn Nets, but it took an extra five minute's worth of overtime to complete to comeback.

It was a big night for Joel Embiid, who had to step up and take over for the Sixers. Typically, Embiid is a guy who is good for playing roughly 30 minutes-per-night. Without Ben Simmons available to pick up that slack elsewhere, though, the Sixers' big man had to stay on the floor for over 40 minutes.

Fortunately, things can go back to normal for the Sixers on Saturday as they face the number one seeded Milwaukee Bucks on the road for a primetime matchup because their All-Star guard Ben Simmons will be back in the mix.

Simmons, who is typically reliable for the Sixers when it comes to availability, was forced to miss his third game this year as he was out due to lower-back tightness. The big guard suffered the injury during Wednesday's practice session while going up for a rebound.

Although the Sixers didn't view Simmons' setback as anything serious, the All-Star still felt tight the following day, which caused the Sixers to rule him out against the Nets. On Friday, however, the Sixers listed Simmons as probable, and now he is available to play on Saturday night in a game where Philly has the opportunity to pick up a much-needed win.

The Sixers are set to face the Bucks at 8:30 pm EST. for the third time this year.

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