Despite some feisty play by the tanking Atlanta Hawks, the Philadelphia 76ers still walked away with a fairly dominant victory.
The Philadelphia 76ers came roaring out of the gates to an 25-8 lead, but the Hawks battled back. Still, the Sixers ended up making six of their seven three-point attempts in the first quarter, maintaining a sizable 25-34 advantage.
The Hawks wouldn’t go down without a fight though, and the score was tied up after three quarters. However, the Sixers absolutely locked down in the final quarter, holding the Hawks to 16 points in the final period and winning by ten.
Also, I was sad that former Processor Ersan Ilyasova was injured and unable to play tonight, because I miss all his stretch four-ness and flopping for charges.
Tonight’s starting lineup was Ben Simmons, J.J. Redick, Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and Joel Embiid. What this means is that I now officially have to call Simmons a point guard. Sad!
However, my logic has always been that who you defend defines your position, and Simmons still defended Hawks power forward Mike Muscala, so I could continue to make that argument. Maybe I should just become a positional nihilist and say it doesn’t matter. Whatever.
No matter what position you say he is, there is one thing we can agree Simmons deserves to be called so far: Rookie of the Year. It feels like he influences our play style even more than Embiid does, and he’s surpassing my wildest expectations.
Also, he did this. And this:
Ben Simmons: 19 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and one huge dunk in the win! pic.twitter.com/HSm80n5wxM
— WeNotLazy (@nowenotlazy) November 2, 2017
The team as a whole was passing so much tonight (racking up 36 assists) that at times they actually overdid it and I thought to myself, “Just shoot already!” Good ball movement is contagious in the same way that bad ball movement can be, and it’s better to overpass than underpass.
Playing T.J. McConnell more certainly helps in that respect. His minutes have increased since Fultz’s injury, and he’s used them well; he put up a line of 12-6-7 in 26 minutes. To whoever brashly commented on one of my articles that McConnell won’t make the team next year, the joke’s on you, sir.
I think the Sixers should have built the Hawks a bit more handily, but a win is a win. Onto the next one!