GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 113, Washington Wizards 107
The Philadelphia 76ers kick off the season with a home victory.
The Philadelphia 76ers commenced the 2020-21 season with a lineup of stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, recent acquisitions Danny Green and Seth Curry, and forward Tobias Harris.
The Wizards had their normal lineup with the exception of Rui Hachimura being absent due to injury.
The offense started off looking shaky, with three consecutive Embiid-Simmons pick-and-rolls leading to awkward misses. The Sixers then went 7-for-7 from the field, showing some offensive fluidity. Tobias Harris seemed to be an efficient option for the Sixers early on as he put up six points in his first quarter spell. Ben Simmons ran the floor effectively, getting four assists in the first quarter. Embiid seemed to start a bit slow on the offensive end but a dunk off of a Simmons lob was followed by three more baskets in the quarter before heading to the bench.
The second unit was a pleasure to watch in the first half. Tyrese Maxey didn’t look like a rookie making his debut as he ran the offense with great success, coming off Dwight Howard screens and dribble drives to go 3-for-4 in the first half while creating well and getting two very nice assists to open shooters. Milton was efficient, making 4-of-6 to score 10 points in 12 minutes in the half. Dwight Howard was great as a screener, a rim protector and reounder, picking up 10 rebounds in 13 minutes. Mike Scott and Furkan Korkmaz weren’t as involved in this first half spell but Kormaz went on to put up 11 points.
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The starters didn’t seem to show the same level of energy though as a 13 point lead in the second quarter was undone for the half to end with a Wizards one=point advantage following an 18-3 run.
The third quarter was a nightmare for the Sixers. The starters went cold to start the quarter, the first points coming from Ben Simmons with 6:05 left in the third frame. Milton, Howard and Korkmaz came in soon after that. While there did seem to be an improvement offensively, the Sixers just weren’t making their shots. Philadelphia entered the fourth quarter down by 10 points.
A lineup of Milton, Curry, Korkmaz, Scott and Embiid cut the lead down to tie the game in just less than five minutes in the fourth quarter. Embiid seemed to have been unleashed in the fourth as he put up 15 points in the quarter, carrying the offensive load for the Sixers. He was aggressive in the low post, getting good looks and drawing fouls, especially when matched up against Robin Lopez. I was impressed by Embiid facing up in the triple threat position and taking a few jab steps before, taking a contested dribble jumper and draining it from the free throw line.
With the game tied and 5:35 to go, Rivers elected to close with a lineup of Milton, Curry, Harris, Simmons and Embiid. This lineup excelled, with Curry doing well to find open cutters and making mid-range jumpers and floaters to keep the Sixers in the game. Milton was aggressive, taking it to the rim, scoring and drawing a couple of fouls. Simmons was solid on both ends.
It should be noted that Matisse Thybulle only played 17 seconds, which were all defensive possessions in the final minute, and it doesn’t seem as if he’s a part of Rivers’ core 10-man rotation. This does come as a surprise after a successful rookie season from Thybulle with many fans even advocating for him to get a starting spot at the beginning of the season.
While the game was closer than it should’ve been, tied up with less than three minutes to go, the Sixers did well to close, winning 113-107.
Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. A. <strong>34 mins | 29 pts | 14 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 10-17 FG | 1-1 3PT| 8-9 FT | 3 PF | +/- -2 |</strong><p>Embiid had a decent first quarter, putting up eight points. His second and third quarters were relatively quiet but the fourth quarter was when he played at the level we expect, putting up 15 points in the quarter alone. The entire offense leant on him and he delivered when the Sixers needed it most. He was aggressive and efficient and let’s hope to see more of this from Embiid throughout the season</p>. C
SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SHAKE MILTON. A-. <strong>29 mins | 19 pts | 1 reb | 3 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 6-11 FG | 2-4 3PT| 5-7 FT | 3 PF | +/- +33</strong><p>Shake had a great game. He put up 10 points in his time on the court in the first half and went on to put up 9 more in the second half. He took care of the ball, not turning it over throughout his entire 29 minutes on the court. He also contributed defensively with three steals. The team was definitely better with him on the court as can be seen by him having the highest +/- in the team at +33.</p>
Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. B+. <strong>32 mins | 16 pts | 9 reb | 7 ast | 2 stl | 3 blk | 4 TO | 7-12 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-6 FT | 3 PF | +/- -2</strong><p>Ben had a great game defensively as can be seen by his three blocks paired with two steals. He ran the offense effectively and facilitated well, getting 7 assists. At times, he seemed a bit stagnant in the second and third quarters but he was vital in the Sixers regaining momentum and going on to secure the victory. While he did well to get to the line and take 6 free throws, he only converted two of them. Overall, a solid game from Ben.</p>. PG
<strong>32 mins | 13 pts | 0 reb | 4 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 4-8 FG | 1-5 3PT| 4-4 FT | 4 PF | +/- -1</strong><p>Curry was disappointing in terms of outside shooting, only making one of five attempts. He didn’t contribute much offensively in the first three quarters but he was vital in the fourth. He had to create his own offense a few times with the shot clock running down and he did this to great effect, relying primarily on floaters and mid range jumpers. He was also good at finding teammates with better shot options as can be seen by his four assists. Overall, Curry can be happy with his Sixers debut.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SETH CURRY. B-
D. <strong>31 mins | 10 pts | 8 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 3-13 FG | 0-4 3PT| 4-4 FT | 4 PF | +/- -5</strong><p>Put simply, Harris was a non-contributor. His shot just couldn’t sink, making only three field goals from 13 attempts. He only got to the line twice but he did make all four free throws. He doesn’t seem to have a natural role in the offense and his game was often just him facing up, trying to drive and missing a semi-difficult shot. Hopefully Harris’ shot will improve over the season because that was the largest cause of his underperformance. Where I can commend him is his defense. He held his own on the defensive end and was also good off the glass, picking up 8 rebounds. Let’s hope Harris finds his rhythm soon.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS
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The Sixers can celebrate this victory but it’s clear to see there’s a lot of work to be done. Hopefully Rivers and his players can find their rhythm and we can start to see some more cohesion, especially on the offensive end.