Though every game counts the same, certain matchups matter more than others to Joel Embiid, who scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Monday on a sore left ankle in the Sixers' win over the Pacers. We’ll see if he enters the All-Star break by continuing that trend. It’s only five games, yes, but anyone who’s watched the Sixers lately has noticed Simmons consistently attacking the rim and looking for his own offense. He’s driven 12.6 times per game during that stretch, and his 8.2 points off drives per contest is almost three points higher than his season average, per NBA.com/Stats. Over his five games since, he’s averaged 20.0 points with 129.9 points per 100 shot attempts, per Cleaning the Glass. With Embiid sidelined by back tightness, Simmons was mostly defended by Utah’s big men, a strategy he thought showed “a little bit of disrespect.”ģ observations after Springer scores 29, Sixers lose tight one in summer leagueĪnother career-high night would be surprising for Simmons, but that game hasn’t felt fluky. 15 loss in Utah was partially attributable to the circumstances. Let’s preview a few things to watch: An encore from Simmons?īen Simmons’ 42-point performance in the Sixers’ Feb. It won’t be a definitive statement on whether the team is a true contender, but the last Sixers game at Wells Fargo Center before fans return is clearly more meaningful than a typical regular-season matchup. If they lose, their spot in the standings will depend on the result of a matchup between the second-place Nets and the Rockets. If the Sixers win Wednesday against the 27-8 Jazz, there’s no doubt they’ll enter the All-Star break at the top of the East. That would mean we’re all in the right place. “You know what I mean? If we continue to play and they continue to play, I think we would all be thrilled to death if we played a third time. “Hopefully it’s a precursor to the end of the year,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said with a laugh Monday night. Not a bad way for the Sixers to wrap up the first half of a highly abnormal NBA season, right? ![]() First place in the Eastern Conference against first place in the West.
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