Since it was mostly this season, Joel Ambide made his way to the Sixers in Minnesota on Friday night. At the end of the third quarter, the team did not need to do much work.
After recording 37 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to help the Sixers win 118-94 against the Timberwolves at goal center, Embid was able to watch comfortably from the bench for the final 14:04.
The 14-6 Sixers will play against the Pacers next Sunday night.
The Sixers head coach Duck Rivers began his predecessor media availability by sharing praise for Hall Hall of Fame coach and Philadelphia basketball icon John Ik John Cheney, who died on Friday at the age of 89.
“I loved him as a man,” Rivers said. “I loved how she carried herself, I loved how she fought for her team, for her players, but in many organizations just for the organization. He was much more than a basketball coach. He was indeed a teacher, and a teacher of life. We have nothing like that now. It will be missed. “
Here are the observations of the Sixers’ victory on Friday:
Early shooting conflict weather
Embed’s position was questionable throughout the day due to back tightness, but he was in the starting lineup of the Sixers. It was an exciting matchup for him on paper against veteran Ed Davis as the Minnesota big men were without Carl-Anthony Towns (health and safety protocols) and Naz Red (right wrist sprain).
However, Embed was firing incorrectly early on mid-range jumpers which he has been drowning repeatedly this season. He missed his first five shots and fell 2 for 14 as a team on mid-range efforts in the first period, according to Sixers Cleaning Glass. Ben Simmons also started 0 for 5.
The Sixers managed to score at something like a normal rate with plenty of free throws, and the MBD was routine in the category. With his 16-for-18 night on the foul line, Embaid now has 152 free throws.
He is second in the league behind Trey Young despite sitting in four games, and a factor that stimulates the Sixers’ notion of being able to beat the Eastern Conference elite in the postseason. It’s mostly a lock for a double-digit free throw that tries every game at the moment.
Possibly players like Seth Curry, Danny Green and Schmidt Milton have made the need to make excellent jumps for the Sixers in the postseason, while Ambid’s incorrect drawing and normal 1-on-1 brilliance reduce the damage of any shooting problems, as we saw on Friday. His early season work against the doubles team is also a positive sign considering the big picture for the Sixers.
“It’s just domination,” said Tobias Harris. I think he has found this, and he has done such a great job of making plays for others outside the position. Tonight they had to protect them straight up. He’s pushing the figure forward, continuing to dominate there and having the pleasure of being on the floor with him when he has conduct and he walks like that. It makes us a really great team. ”
Tires Maxi finished at six key second quarter points at one point while the other unit of the team also did not experience aggressive success or rhythm.
Avoiding bad patterns from last season
The troubling attitude for the 2019-20 Sixers on the road was the team’s resentment which led to its humiliating difficulties in defense.
“You can’t just live on your offense,” Rivers said during the training camp. “And it’s not just our team, but those teams haven’t done well either. Your crime will disappoint you. … He is human; It happens. But you can still win the game. If we can get that kind of confidence that we are going to win whether we do shots or not, it will make us a hack of force. ”
Friday night’s game was an excellent example of the point of the rivers. It would be easy (and understandable) for the Sixers to be defensively strong and lose intensity. The logic suggested that their outstanding talent would win at some point, but neither team was good enough to survive by pulling off a fierce shooting in the hope of eventually hitting the jumpers. The Sixers needed to compete for defense, and they deserve credit for doing that.
The Matisse Thaibul had a particularly strong defensive evening, lifting three of the Sixers’ 11 steels. Rivers said the Sixers are asking Thaibule to focus on being “solid” defensively, as he doesn’t need to gamble any more to get defects and steels.
“He had 12 encounters on his own in a quarter,” Revers said. “And Joel was surprised, but if I’m giving up a game ball, maybe it’s Matisse, or we’ll split it up with those two, because I think he was the difference maker.
“I thought he (Ricky) frustrated Rubio, and then I thought he (D’Angelo) was extraordinary at Russell. He’s just a defender’s hell. Now he’s under his feet, he knows we’re out of him. What to expect and that’s awesome. “
With this win, the Sixers are 4-5 on the road, meaning they need eight more wins for last season’s total.
Awaiting Scott’s return
Mike Scott missed his seventh consecutive game with a swollen right knee. Although it doesn’t seem very significant in the loneliness, Rivers has often mentioned that Scott’s absence reduces the Sixers ’options and increases the importance of Simmons and Harris foul getting out of trouble.
When Scott is available, how can the rotation of the rivers be changed? Perhaps Furkan Korkmaz’s minutes will be streamlined, although the Sixers seem committed to helping him find the rhythm.
There should be a little less burden on players like Harris who played high in the team on Friday minutes minutes.
“I like one of the three – Joel, Tobias or Ben – on the floor all the time.” Said the rivers. “I don’t like how we’re doing it right now, because we’re extending it by a minute every minute. At night. I don’t like it. Without four, we literally don’t like to do it.
“We played the difference – or anyone who wants to claim four … I think Mattis called himself on a bar tonight. You play the right team, a big team, it’s really hard. So I like one of those three. I do. The floor all the time. I think it’s good for us. We’re not deep enough, but most of the games I have will be on the floor. ”
One also wonders how Dwight Howard will be affected. In the first half of Wednesday’s win over the Lakers, Rivers used Simmons as the center of the small ball and admitted before Friday’s game that Howard had recently received a subpar run. Peve had three points, 10 rebounds and four fouls in 17 minutes against Minnesota.
“I’m not worried about that,” Rivers said. “He’s not played great. He’s done in life, he just does, and he’ll go through it. He’s been around for a long time. Detroit did the same.You can either stay big, which I do often, or sometimes you can have an adjustment.Our problem, obviously, is with Mike Scott out, we have right now. There aren’t many adjustments that can be made and that, of course, keeps us very limited. “
Simmons at the center certainly won’t be the norm, although Rivers said, “This is the look I like.” He is looking forward to working on it, noting that the Sixers should have a rare opportunity to practice early next week.
