The Philadelphia 76ers came back full Saturday night as they welcomed Ben Simmons to training after an absence from a game due to injury. The Star Guard hit right away and the Sixers were able to come out with a 124-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at home.
Joel Embiid again led Philadelphia in scoring with another monstrous 33-point game and nine rebounds, Tobias Harris added 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, but Simmons hit a lot on both ends of the field and had 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Another important factor in the victory was to get 11 points from Seth Curry, with Danny Green also adding 11, and Shake Milton had 15 off the bench with Furkan Korkmaz adding 13.
Here are the three observations of this victory:
The Ben Simmons effect
It’s very simple. Simmons makes this team flow in the offensive end. On Thursday, the team couldn’t produce an open appearance to save their lives, and in this one, they had a lot of aspects open just for the attention Simmons draws from night to night. There was a particular possession in the first quarter where he drove, attracted several net defenders and found Green for an open triple. That didn’t happen on Thursday.
Simmons was also able to create a couple of open plays for Curry, which is very important because he has been fighting in recent games since his return from COVID. In the third quarter there was a play where Simmons drew attention again and was able to throw it to an open Curry for a triple. That’s what the team was missing against Portland. A guy who can improve his teammates as best he can.
Better defensive effort
The Nets are one of the most explosive crimes in the league and the Sixers did a pretty solid job against them, the Nets made a lot of hard shots. It certainly helped that they had Simmons back in training to score the quarterback of the defense, but it looked like there was more energy at that end of the field. Of course, that has to be every night and not just because they had the leader on the ground, but it was a pretty positive night.
The stretch to finish the third quarter was especially impressive as they took full control of the game. The game was tied at 79 and the Sixers closed out and finished fourth with a 23-7 run to advance 102-86 to third. Brooklyn didn’t have any clean looks and made six changes that made Philadelphia score 12 quick points to take control. Also, Simmons’ defense against Nets superstar James Harden was impressive during that quarter-stretch.
Two-man game between Embiid and Curry
This has been something that has continued to grow, but the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop game between Embiid and Curry has continued to progress. There were a few plays in the first half in which they both worked a smooth pick-and-pop game and this will continue to be a big offense advantage. Curry’s ability to handle the ball has been a big plus for this team. It also helps that he has finally managed to drop a couple of triples.
The fact that the Sixers now have several ball manipulators they can turn to will be a big help in moving forward. He now adds versatility to the offense, as there were a few times Simmons was released, something that coach Doc Rivers has been working on with him. They can’t do it if they don’t have the multitude of ball manipulators on the list.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!