3 observations: Joel Embiid, shorthanded Sixers escape Clippers at home
The Philadelphia 76ers were coming off a big win on Wednesday in order to be in the driver’s seat in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the playoffs. They then found out they had to do battle with one of the West’s elite teams in the Los Angeles Clippers while missing three key players.
While the lack of depth in this one was definitely a big issue, Philadelphia was able to buckle down late and pick up a 106-103 win thanks in large part to their superstar big man. Joel Embiid led the way with 36 points and 13 rebounds and the Sixers did just enough on the defensive end in order to come away with the win.
Ben Simmons added 12 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, Furkan Korkmaz had 18 points, Danny Green added 11 and seven rebounds, and Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey had nine points each.
Here are the three observations from a gutsy win:
Simmons' offensive impact
This is always the most controversial topic when it comes to the Sixers. Should Simmons score more? Yes when the time calls for it, i.e. the playoffs. However, there is no doubting his impact out on the offensive end. The attention he attracted was helpful in creating shots on the offensive end of the floor and Philadelphia was able to build a 20-3 lead early. He did not score a single point, but the looks he created for his teammates were a key factor in being able to build that type of lead. When he went to the bench and coach Doc Rivers ran with a bench lineup led by Milton and Maxey, the offense looked a little disjointed and the Clippers went on a run to make it a game. Simmons was then reinserted into the fray and he helped settle the team down and they built a double-digit lead. He did not score until late in the second quarter when he put two Clippers in the spin cycle.
Sixers defensive effort
When everybody on this team is engaged on the defensive end, Philadelphia is so tough to score on. There were so many times when Paul George and Reggie Jackson tried to penetrate into the teeth of their defense, but they couldn’t. They had no shot against first, Simmons, and then Matisse Thybulle following him. Everywhere the Clippers went, they were met with the length of the Sixers on the perimeter, and on the rare occasion they did get into the paint, they ran into Embiid. The Clippers got into a groove in the second half, but it was mostly due to the bench lineup and Patrick Patterson just catching fire. This is the NBA, it happens sometimes. This will be Philadelphia’s calling card come playoff time. They have so many elite defenders up and down the roster and they have so many players they can defend at a high level out on the perimeter and then they have Embiid backing them up. As long as they can shore up the transition defense, which was pretty good in this one, teams are going to have a tough time having to score on the Sixers on a consistent basis.
3-point attempts
In a game where Philadelphia was so shorthanded, this was one of those nights where the 3-point shot was going to be the great equalizer. With Rivers turning to Korkmaz and Scott to start in this one, the Sixers needed those guys to shoot a bunch of triples. They obliged as they let them fly. The Sixers launched 16 triples in the first quarter, alone, and they shot 29 in the first half, making 10 of them. The Sixers are not going to beat anybody with their 3-point shot, but them taking a large number of triples opens things up for them offensively. Los Angeles had to be aware of where the shooters were and then Embiid was able to have some more space to operate. Also, the more 3-pointers taken, the more opportunities they have to score more points from the perimeter.
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