October 29, 2017
They didn't get there as easily as they probably should have, but the Sixers earned their second win of the season in a 112-110 nailbiter over the Dallas Mavericks. Led by — who else? — Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, the Sixers were pretty comfortably the better team on the evening, and if not for some lights out deep shooting from their opponent, they probably would have coasted to a victory.
But this young squad will take wins any way it can get them. Here's what stood out from the win, the Sixers' first in Dallas since all the way back in 2005.
If you're a Sixers fan, you should be counting your lucky stars, thanking whatever higher power you pray to, that the Sixers had the opportunity to draft Ben Simmons. He has been even better than advertised, and you don't have to take my word on that one. Just ask Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who watched Simmons do his thing up close and personal.
Rick Carlisle on Ben Simmons (23 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists): "Everybody knew he was gonna be good, but he's way better than expected."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 29, 2017
Simmons has put up some gaudy stat lines already this season, but this game felt like the one in which he imposed his will the most. Rather than allowing the defense to dictate what he was going to do, Simmons initiated contact early and often, and went up strong for dunks instead of settling for layups. He played the way a man of his size should, and it made his life much easier.
Though there has been a lot of hemming and hawing about Simmons being the "point guard" of this team, his versatility was on display in Dallas. He ceded the controls of the offense to different players throughout the night, from TJ McConnell to Dario Saric, using the same athleticism and intellect to blow by defenders as an off-ball cutter.
Of course, he's flashiest when he has the ball in his hands, because passing is still his greatest strength. This dime he dropped to Embiid in the first quarter is absolute sorcery:
What a pass for the splash 👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/0CmeGGusom
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 29, 2017
And yet Simmons makes that look so easy. The game comes easy to him, and that's not a thing you can say about most rookies. Most of his peers are lucky to have one bankable skill to rely on as they sort through various errors in the early going. Just look at Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas' rookie guard, who coughed the ball up six times against Philadelphia. That's what people expected from Simmons this year, but he has blown by the usual rookie struggles.
The most encouraging sign from this game was Simmons' willingness to take jump shots. It is clearly not a strength in his game yet, but he has to be willing to get shots up from beyond the paint to keep defenses on their heels. It seems with each passing game, his confidence grows, and now you see him attempting shots like this.
That almost looks natural! It doesn't have to look pretty, and he doesn't even need to shoot a high percentage there yet. He's already so, so good at basketball.
Embiid's next big step as a basketball player will come primarily from cutting down on his turnovers. One way to help that? Get rid of the ball quicker when you're hit with double-teams in the post.
The big fella had his best passing game of the season on Saturday night, tallying four assists and promoting good ball movement even when he didn't get credit for an assist. On this play, for example, his head is up from the moment he faces the basket, and he makes the pass to TJ McConnell that starts a chain reaction in Dallas' defense.
He made a similar read later in the game, and this time it led directly to a made three from Robert Covington.
Teams are going to continue to hound Embiid with pressure and cheat toward him off their men, because they're all aware of how big and strong he is on the low block. They also know he's prone to turning the ball over a good deal, so the risk of helping off another guy is worth taking if you can force Embiid into giving up possession.
We have seen a lot of rapid progression from Embiid in different areas of his game. This is a really important piece of the puzzle for him, so it's good to see any signs of improvement.
There have been a lot of people who get upset at the number of jumpers Embiid has taken this year. His awful night from the field against Boston is a big reason for the outcry at this stage, but it's also a fairly natural reaction to seeing someone who is 7'2" hang at the perimeter. It can seem fairly unnatural.
That doesn't mean he should stop shooting them, and in fact, I would opine that he shouldn't change his approach there. Embiid being a threat to hit a three at any given moment is critical for the offense, in particular when Embiid is sharing the court with Simmons. By dragging his man out to the arc with him, Embiid is making it much harder for opponents to protect the rim.
Embiid should primarily operate near the painted area, to be sure. Simmons has made sure he gets involved more as a roll man this season, and despite the turnover problems, Embiid can be an absolute force near the basket because of his size. You don't need to overthink it: the guy is huge and has great touch, so get him as close to the rim as possible.
Just remember that other guys need to be put in positions to succeed and lead as well. Sometimes that means Embiid will end up on the perimeter, either as a decoy or a legitimate threat to shoot. If any other player on the team went 3/7 from deep, as Embiid did against Dallas, you would happily take that every time, especially if it meant your opponent had a tougher time protecting the rim as a result.
Get used to it, because it's not going away.
The logic behind starting Jerryd Bayless makes a ton of sense. His lack of playmaking doesn't hurt as much when you put him next to Simmons, and the floor spacing he provides should not be discounted. If he makes 50 percent of his three-point shots this year, there's no way he's taking a step back in this rotation.
But McConnell, who figured to be a bit player following the arrival of Markelle Fultz, is doing everything he can to prove he deserves to be a big factor in Brown's rotation.
The defensive difference between McConnell and Bayless is striking, partially because McConnell's defensive plays come in unorthodox areas of the court. Few players are prepared to deal with someone hounding them with ball pressure after a made basket or defensive rebound, which leads to a lot of lazy passes to the ballhandler. There might not be anyone better in the league at capitalizing on that laziness than McConnell.
One way to overcome an inability to shoot from deep is to create extra offensive possessions through pushing the pace and creating turnovers. McConnell plays like he is keenly aware that that's where his bread is buttered. In the third quarter, he helped deny a Harrison Barnes post-up, got a good contest on JJ Barea's shot, leaked up the floor to receive the outlet, and found his trailer for a transition three.
McConnell's head never drops on either end, and he's always probing the other team in one way or another. His teammates seem to notice. Simmons paid McConnell a nice compliment after the game, crediting him for the calming influence he has on the offense.
"He knows what it takes to run the team," said Simmons. "As soon as he gets out there, everybody has the confidence in him to run the team, know the sets, and get the ball to the right person."
McConnell got a chance to close out the game tonight, which he did not get in the team's loss against Houston earlier in the week. My guess is Brown won't make any changes here—and who finishes the game is more important—but credit to McConnell for making this a conversation.
Concern over Saric's game hit an all-time high over the last couple weeks, following a rough opening stretch for the second-year forward. He had his worst game of his career against Houston on Wednesday, and questions have started to emerge about whether he fits into the big picture now that Simmons is running the show.
Saturday's game should help silence a few critics. He still wasn't all that sharp from the field, shooting just 4-12 from the night, but he was much more involved in the game than he's been at any point this year, and he might have just earned himself some more time alongside Simmons.
With Simmons dominating the ball so much, it has been hard for Saric to show off his playmaking this season. Against Dallas, Simmons ceded a lot more control of the offense to his teammates, including The Homie Dario. Those two hooked up early against the Mavericks, with Saric finding a cutting Simmons along the baseline for a layup.
Out of an inbounds play later in the game, Simmons found Saric in pretty good position on the block against Dirk Nowitzki. As Dallas attempted to double him and force a turnover, Simmons flocked to the open space in the painted area, and Saric made a nifty bounce pass around Dwight Powell's back to get Simmons an open dunk.
These plays say as much about Simmons' utility as they do about Saric as a playmaker, but they're a good example of what can happen if you have two oversized passers on the floor at the same time. Saric will probably never again have the amount of responsibility he had last year, and that's okay as long as he is efficient with his touches. It might be a slow climb for Saric to figure things out in a new role, but the talent is still there.
