The Sixers’ bench players squandered a lead of more than 20 points in the second half, but a comprehensive performance by Ben Simmons was the highlight of their 102-97 loss to the Thunder on Sunday afternoon.
This is what I saw on Sunday afternoon.
The good
• The Sixers did not travel to Orlando to make a half effort. So far we’ve only seen their form of scrimmage, but with the assumption that the intensity will only increase from here, it looks like they came ready to fight.
Two men stand out as leaders on this front: Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson. The former has earned due consideration for All-Defense honors and has continued that way in Orlando’s early games, changing the roster and playing its usual brand of disruptive defense. And with more ball handlers on the floor, Simmons has been able to run away in the transition and score without having to lift the ball himself.
Richardson also deserves a nod for what he has done so far. He has taken on most of the toughest guard duties on defense so far and has rarely played at a level below maximum effort. In a possession late in the first half on Sunday, Richardson ran back and converted what could have been an easy OKC placement that everyone would forget in a Thunder rotation, and Philly ended up getting an open transition in the other direction. .
Getting ready to play has been half the battle for the Sixers this season. When blocked in defense, they are difficult to score regardless of the opponent. But they didn’t always appear in the arena ready to fight, especially on the road. The focus has been A + so far, even when execution has not.
• Simmons has been Philadelphia’s best restart player by a considerable margin in the first two games. There are still a few drawbacks with him up front, I don’t think they can depend too much on the comfortable pick-and-rolls, but overall he’s been excellent.
The change in position / alignment has not deprived Simmons of his ability to create for his teammates. On Sunday, he created from a wide variety of looks: a long outing for a veteran Norvel Pelle, going through a double team on the post, transitional dropouts, and the usual looting when defenses collapse on him in the paint.
About those double teams in the post: Simmons often received matchups where he had a good size advantage, and took advantage of those opportunities. Every time Simmons was lucky to have Chris Paul behind him, he absolutely intimidated the future Hall of Famer. That aggression hasn’t always been there for Ben, and it helped put him on the free throw line throughout the game.
While we didn’t see Simmons try more than three times on Sunday afternoon, on several occasions he made his way to the perimeter to offer an outlet and room for teammates, proving that he’s starting to incorporate those habits into his repertoire. Despite the months-long hiatus that prevented these boys from playing basketball, there are signs of a shift in focus.
Lead by example, and that’s what Philadelphia should expect you to do. When the starters have been in Philadelphia for the first two games, the margins have not been tight.
• We will start with the positive at Al Horford. After air-firing his first three-point attempt of the game, Horford caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down four triples on Sunday morning. While he can’t be expected to go to those kinds of tears in every game, being a more reliable threat from the bottom would improve the banking groups led by Simmons and his chances of successfully pairing with Joel Embiid.
Defensively, the Sixers still don’t seem to realize how to get the best out of it. In the first half, there were some really encouraging moments where Horford broke free to play D-pressure, forcing a jump and a Thunder timeout on two possessions in quick succession. Its ability to close the gap improves compared to the last time we saw it, making it much more useful and versatile.
However, there is still a large gap between him and Embiid that protects the edge. The drop in coverage still largely equates to the balloons thrown over his head, and Adams retrieved it with a couple of indescribable moves in the post. Having to switch between schemes when playing in a non-Embiid center is not ideal, but as we’ve discussed on occasion this year, it’s probably necessary.
Leaving those problems aside, I would say that the big conclusion so far is spring in its wake. Horford is moving much better, even in transition, and that bodes well.
• Josh Richardson’s line was not spectacular in this game, but I think he was acquitted quite well against Oklahoma City. With Simmons rampaging in Orlando thus far, Richardson has been able to establish himself in a lower-middle-use role that suits him better than the high-volume role he was in this season. In that way, he is another beneficiary of Shake Milton’s presence in the starting lineup. When RPGs (even higher-level RPGs) are not asked to overstretch, they can focus on what they do best. Richardson’s defensive activity and offensive plugging skills are seen much better in this context.
• Will the four-month layoff help Matisse Thybulle avoid novice wall pain? It seems so far.
The second half was basically a 24-minute display of Thybulle’s disruption, and he is a candidate to be a major X factor in Orlando. With players from across the league still claiming their sharpness, Thybulle’s ability to deflect passes and interrupt ballplayers is sensational for a player of his age and experience level.
One disappointment: the offense is still a work in progress. She had more turnovers than forced on Sunday, and she simply can’t be asked to do much at the other end.
• Norvel Pelle has been one of Philadelphia’s pleasant surprises during the first two games. Brown appears to have him third on the great men’s depth chart against veteran Kyle O’Quinn, and he’s playing with better conscience on the floor, even if he’s still making a few mistakes through exuberance.
The bad
• I don’t think you’ll ever see a Milton-Thybulle-Korkmaz-Robinson III-Pelle lineup in a game that matters. If you do, something went terribly wrong. But it’s instructive in how it shows Shake Milton’s limitations at the helm of a team.
When Milton is on the floor with multiple creators, he can focus on the things he does well, like making quick clearance decisions and simple readings on pick-and-rolls. However, in a unit like the previous one, there is too much pressure on him to try to create a split and get the Sixers into his early offense.
Korkmaz is probably the second best creator in that group, and although he has improved creating separation beyond the arc, he does not have the strength or fluidity to penetrate regularly. Milton’s weaknesses (his blast and handling are nothing extraordinary) are most evident in this context, and it is a great reason why this group struggled to generate any offense.
(In case this turns out to be an indictment of Milton’s move: He did exactly what they needed him to do with the starting group. The shot traveled with him to Orlando, which was the most important thing.)
• The game of the second half of the bench players the last two practice games has been absolutely horrible. A small complaint when you consider how badly the Sixers’ actual rotation players have outscored two Western Conference playoff teams, but nonetheless it’s negative.
The ugly one
• Losing Joel Embiid from calf strain was bad enough, but the Sixers would continue to lose Raul Neto from back strain during pregame warm-ups, and Glenn Robinson III picked up a hip pointer during a harsh collision. with Terence Ferguson in the first half. . Having three guys with injury issues so early in the restart, even if they’re minor, isn’t ideal.
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