The Sixers have been frustrating as of late, to say the least. This team just seems to lack that cohesion we expected early on, and the city has been going nuts over the current standings. With Richardson, Embiid, and Horford all active, as well as Glenn Robinson III this team needed to succeed at home tonight.
The offense got off to a hot start, scoring 38 points in the first quarter. A spark like this was encouraging to see hopefully, coach Brown is starting to find a successful game plan that can impact games early on regularly.
Furkan Korkmaz continues to stun Sixers fans, scoring 31 points, going 12-17 from the field, and 6-11 from three. He really has found a role in this offense, and if he can help lead these bench guys, maybe it can fix some of Philly’s scoring struggles.
Joel Embiid silenced the haters, as he had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. It was an encouraging night for Embiid, he looked more comfortable on the floor and played like the aggressive leader fans expect him to be. Joel needs to build off this and play more consistently with the playoffs imminent.
Recent acquisition Glenn Robinson III impressed in his Sixers debut, scoring 10 off the bench and going 5-6 from the field. Alec Burks sat out tonight due to the coach’s decision, expect Brett to incorporate both guys as he finds them a role on this team.
Ben Simmons had a triple-double, as he scored 19 points, with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Ben has continued to grow offensively, and if he can put up these types of numbers going into the second half, you can only hope that can carry on entering the playoffs.
Not everything was perfect tonight though, the team got off to a hot start, but Chicago pushed back the entire second half. Al Horford also had another disappointing outing, scoring 0 points while going 0-6 from the field. Horford has been a punching bag for Sixers fans and expect that to continue, he is still a good player, but he just seems off this year and needs to get on track for the rest of the season. J Rich also struggled going 1-2 from the field and scoring only 3 points.
All in all, this was a big win, but an expected one. The Sixers need to find a way to win close games like this on the road or the 5-6 seed may be where they stay for the rest of the season. However, with the lineup finally getting healthy, and the addition of two scoring wings, there is a legitimate chance this team gets hot going into the second half of the year. It’s all on coach Brown to figure it out before it’s too late.