Philadelphia 76ers inventing new ways to keep on winning

Despite the temporary loss of both Dario Saric and Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers keep finding new ways to win.

The Philadelphia 76ers keep on winning. Without Joel Embiid, this team keeps on winning. Even when the team sits Dariod Saric, this team keeps on winning. And with a team on a winning streak, there is always the “when will they lose?” question. But to be honest, in a win or go home setting, I prefer the team gets hot now.

The team has won 13 consecutive games to climb to 49-30. That’s good enough for a 3-seed for now.  And with the current playoff bracket, that means the Philadelphia 76ers opening opponent is 6-seed Miami Heat.  The winner then  advances to face the winner of the 2-seed Boston Celtics versus 7-seed Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals. That winner advances to face the winner of the 1-seed Toronto Raptors vs. 8-seed Washington Wizards and the 4-seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5-seed Indiana Pacers.  That could mean the 76ers face either the Raptors or the Cavaliers, but not both.

Winning ways

The team is discovering something very important about itself. As Joel Embiid learns about a good medical update, the team can win as he recovers. In fact, the team has continued the winning streak by six games since Embiid’s injury, including wins over Cleveland, over the Detroit Pistons, and even over the pesky Brooklyn Nets.

All the while, the team is getting huge offense out of J.J. Redick and Marco Belinellie. So far in April 2018, J.J. Redick is averaging 23.0 points per game, and shooting three-pointers at a 51.7 percent clip. When he sits, the 76ers don’t lose a beat as reserve Belinelli is averaging 20.3 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting from the perimeter. That’s some one-two punch, and that 40 plus point offense from the pair has propelled the team to continue winning.

Ben Simmons takes over

But the team has discovered that Ben Simmons is a force to be reckoned with in his own right.  In the absence of Embiid, Ben Simmons is rising to the challenge in a huge way.

It’s not just the past couple of games, but a season long process.

Ben says, Ben does

Of course, when Embiid went down, cameras and microphones aimed at Simmons for the answer to what will the Philadelphia 76ers do without the team leader? His answer was as solid as though he’d practiced it in front of a mirror every day.

What could that be?

"“We’ve got to hold it together. We have to be quicker. We’ve got to push the ball up the court faster.”"

In the month of April 2018, Ben Simmons is averaging 19.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. Oh, and those momentum killing turnovers? 2.5 per game. In comparison, LeBron James averages over 5.3 turnovers per game over the same time period.

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Team effort thanks to Coach Brown.

But trying to single out which 76ers player is responsible for this 13 game winning streak is like trying to pick out which hornet has stung you after disturbing the nest. This is a team effort right now. Offense from Markelle Fultz and Ersan Ilyasova. Defense from Robert Covington and Amir Johnson. Passionate play from Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell. When the team wins by a margin of two points over the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone on the team contributed for the win.

Next: The Philadelphia 76ers have arrived, folks

And that’s the magic sauce for this Philadelphia 76ers team. Somehow, Coach Brett Brown has woven a team tapestry among the players which pulls from veterans and youth into this “can’t let my teammates down” mentality. In the midst of their 13-game winning streak without Joel Embiid and without Dario Saric, who is ultimately responsible? Head coach Brett Brown. The Philadelphia 76ers team may be discovering new ways to win. But it comes down to having the right guide.  After all, climbing to the highest peaks anywhere comes down to that. Well played, Brett Brown, well played.