RECAP: Philadelphia 76ers 104, Utah Jazz 97
The shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers overcame the Utah Jazz, winning a fifth straight game. The win is the first against Utah in the Brett Brown era.
In the last game without Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers were trounced by the Toronto Raptors. Tonight, they fared much better against the Utah Jazz. They pulled out a fantastic team win behind impressive performances from J.J. Redick and Dario Saric. Dario had by far his best performance of the season. His shooting and rebounding were all on point, posting a double double. Brett Brown called Dario the MVP of the night.
Because Joel Embiid and Jerryd Bayless, Brett Brown really dug deep in to his bench. Nik Stauskas, Jahlil Okafor and Justin Anderson made appearances. Anderson was the more effective bench contributor of the three. He provided energy and athleticism highlighted by two dunks. TJ McConnell and Timothe Luwawu contributed off of the bench as well. They played solid defense, adding to the theme of a complete team performance by the Sixers.
The Utah Jazz locked down on defense forcing turnovers and made some runs to make the game close on several occasions. But the Sixers controlled the majority of the contest. Despite Ben Simmons saying this was his worst performance of his rookie year, the team has to be happy to come out with a tough road win in Salt Lake City.
G. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. B+. <span style=
Philadelphia 76ers. TJ MCCONNELL. B. <span style=. PG
<span style=. C. Philadelphia 76ers. RICHAUN HOLMES. C+
A-. <span style=. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK
DARIO SARIC. A. <span style=. F. Philadelphia 76ers
Defense Defines Ben Simmons’ Performance
Of the many aspects of Ben Simmons’ game I have been impressed with, his effort, instincts and versatility on defense have surprised me the most so far this season. He really put in a complete game on the defensive end.
He closed out on shooters aggressively with regularity. Ben knew when to take chances on steals and was able to pick some pockets leading to instant offense. Lastly, I saw him defend positions one through four tonight.
Nine fouls before the fourth quarter by the Sixers big men put Brett Brown in a bind. Brown responded by playing small ball with Dario at the center spot. It was effective for stretches in large part to Ben’s defense.
Quick Hits:
- Turnovers and fouls were still an issue for the Sixers. 22 giveaways and 34 personal fouls by the Sixers kept Utah in the game.
- Jahlil Okafor got some run tonight with Holmes picking up two early fouls. He picked up three fouls and scored no points. It seems unrealistic to expect him to have a rhythm or keep up with the pace of play with so little playing time, but it was an uninspiring appearance nonetheless.
- Donovan Mitchell‘s shots were not falling with a dreadful for fromthree-point range. But any Jazz fan should be excited for the rookie’s willingness to keep at it. When those shots fall, Mitchell will be a problem
Next: Are 76ers overprotecting Embiid?