1. Josh Richardson looks like his old self
Among the many Sixers who fell victim to the wonkiness of this season, Josh Richardson struggled to establish a consistent presence before the hiatus. He was oft-injured, sometimes inefficient, and not always a regular impact player. He’s looking much more like this normal self in Orlando.
Richardson stood out in this game, dropping in 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting and nabbing four steals. As the Sixers’ primary answer to opposing point guards, Richardson has thrived on defense through two scrimmages. He has always been good about using his length at the point of attack, and Chris Paul can surely attest to Richardson’s two-way presence in this game.
On the other end, Richardson showcased some nice chemistry as a ball-handler next to Ben Simmons. We should expect Richardson and Simmons to share the court quite a bit once the season kicks into gear, as Brett Brown appears set on tethering Milton to Embiid in his substation pattern.
Richardson also showed a quick trigger from deep in this one. The Sixers need quick decisions in the halfcourt, and Richardson catching and firing without hesitation is always a good sign. As the ball movement improves and Simmons does more work from the elbow, the volume of clean looks should only increase.
And, as another brief aside, Simmons was once again the best player on the floor. He didn’t attempt a 3-pointer, much to the chagrin of some fans, but he used his physicality to dominate smaller OKC guards inside and worked his magic in transition, to the tune of nine assists. The Sixers should be very pleased with Simmons’ performance so far in Orlando.