On Saturday night, the Lebron James-led Los Angeles Lakers made their way to the “City of Brotherly Love” to play the Philadelphia 76ers. The biggest story of the night was James passing Kobe Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, but the overshadowed takeaway of the evening is that 76ers were able to secure a victory handily despite being without two starters.
For Saturday’s showdown with the Lakers, Philadelphia was without All-Star center Joel Embiid (finger) and starting shooting guard Josh Richardson (hamstring). Even with these major assets being on the sidelines, the Sixers were still able to capture a win in a dominating fashion with a final score of 108-91. Through the play of Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, Philly was able to get ahead early and maintain a sizable lead for most of the game.
Simmons finished the game with 28 points, eight assists, and 10 rebounds while Harris added 29 points and eight rebounds of his own. Other players who showed up big for Philadelphia was power forward Al Horford, who had 16 points, along with Furkan Korkmaz and Raul Neto both adding nine points of their own coming off the bench. With the big win, the 76ers moved to a 6-3 record since losing star Joel Embiid and improve their dominating record at home to a staggering 21-2.
The 76ers are expecting the return of Embiid to the starting lineup this week with the hopes that Ben Simmons will continue playing a very high level. In the nine games that Embiid has been absent, Simmons has stepped up immensely, averaging 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. The hope within the Sixers’ front office and fanbase is that Simmons continues playing at this level when Embiid comes back. Rumors have swirled over the past couple of years that the two players do not complement one another very well on the court.
Upon Embiid’s return, head coach Brett Brown desperately needs to find a way for both of these All-Star-caliber talents to reach their maximum potentials playing side by side. If Simmons and Embiid can play together cohesively and fill up the stat sheets, the Philadelphia 76ers have a real promising chance of making a run at the NBA title.
