Last season, an away game against a less talented opponent after two encouraging victories over an Eastern Conference enemy would probably have been a problem for the Sixers. They lost several frustrating games that fit the description or were very close to it.
Although it was not easy, the team did not repeat the trend and did business in Detroit on Saturday night, beating the Pistons 114-110 and beating them 12-5.
Detroit was without overall number 7 Killian Hayes (right hip strain) Blake Griffin (left knee injury management) and Derrick Rose (pain in left knee). Vincent Poirier and Mike Scott stayed for Sixers due to the respective health and safety protocols of the NBA and the swelling of the right knee, respectively.
The Sixers will stay in Detroit again Monday night to play the Pistons. Here are observations on their victory to open the mini-series:
Simmons thrive, make up for bank’s off-night
Like Joel Embiid on Friday night, Ben Simmons had a strong start interrupted by dirty problems. Before being asked for his second offense with 4:56 left in the first period, he posted eight points, three rebounds and two assists, effectively driving downhill.
For the second consecutive game, the Sixers Bank players did not fare well during the first time and early in the second period on the floor, making sloppy mistakes that helped the Pistons into the transition. Although the Sixers got valuable performances from their bench early in the season, the team’s overall unit team sometimes seemed shaky.
All in all, the Sixers Bank was beaten 55-23 by Detroit’s second unit.
Dwight Howard did his best to deliver physicality and energy, but he was asked for an offensive offense when he fought for an offensive setback and ripped Pistons rookie Isaiah Stewart off a piece of his pants. The veteran, a big man, picked up a technical offense because he disputed the confusing call, as you can see in the video above.
As for Simmons, he resumed his aggressive offensive mindset after the bad problems on the bench. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, adding nine rebounds, seven assists and three touchdowns in a characteristically diverse performance.
With a 10-for-12 performance on the dirty line, Simmons has now made 65.9 percent of his free throws this season.
Simmons’ primary defense assignment was Jerami Grant. While the Process Era Sixer had by far his most productive NBA season, he had a bad night against Simmons and the Sixers, scoring 11 points on 3-for-19 shooting. This is certainly not the first time one of Simmons’ games has played a sub-game.
Even if missed open shots are part of what went wrong for Grant, it’s no coincidence that Simmons often makes the opposition’s attacking threat seem much less powerful than he usually does. Simmons engulfs Grant in a particularly impressive third quarter possession, reflecting his movements on the baseline, knocking the ball loose and forcing a bouncy ball. If he stays healthy, Simmons apparently has the talent to win the All-Defensive First Team honors year after year.
Victory against Embiid, again
Almost every time Embiid plays, it seems obligatory to note that he has an advantageous match, as if to indicate that his amazing production has a significant reservation. However, if this is so often the case, it says something about how difficult Embiid is to defend. The apparent formula for slowing him down is double collusion at the right times, causing him to take controversial shots in midfield and avoid mistakes. It’s all much easier said than done.
Miles Plumlee, Stewart and former teammate Jahlil Okafor were the players who had to carry out the task of guarding Embiid. No one had convincing answers against the three-time All-Star, though Embiid was not quite as sharp or efficient as during the Sixers’ mini-series over the Celtics. He scored 80 points on 34 field goal attempts against Boston.
However, Embiid still scored 33 points on 10-for-20 shooting and 14 rebounds, and nothing about his game was remarkably brilliant or exceptional by the high standards he set. These kinds of performances often seem within reach.
Grind one out
Detroit took a significant lead over the Sixers in the first half in three-point shooting and hit 9 of 15 long-range attempts compared to the Sixers’ 2-for-8 point. The Pistons had a lot of success getting Wayne Ellington (17 points) to walk around the screens, and the Sixers were sometimes lax about not locating the shooters well, or flying past them.
The defense of the team was also not flawless after the break. The facts, however, are that the Sixers overcame an 11-point deficit in the first half to win on the road to victory in the second half of a rugby match. The Sixers did well by plowing these suboptimal conditions.