Why Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons May Be Unstoppable
Despite showing a distinct amount of early-season rust, the Sixers were able to grind out a win against a likely playoff contender in the Washington Wizards.
There were plenty of areas for improvement, but when the Sixers needed their star players, they delivered, and there wasn’t much their opponents could do about it.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons by no means played perfect games. Embiid went scoreless in the third quarter, but with the Sixers down double digits to start the fourth and seemingly unable to cut into the lead, Embiid assisted on a Korkmaz 3 then went on an 8 to 4 run himself, bringing the deficit back to a one-possession lead.
In the past, when Joel has gone cold, he struggled to get back into the game, but on this occasion, he seemingly took over on sheer force of will.
While the Wizards may not be the best defense in the league, what Embiid could do is a great sign for the team moving forward. Joel didn’t defer to others and didn’t give the defense an easy way out by drifting to the perimeter. Every catch was either at the low or high post and every time Embiid caught the ball, he forced his opponents to double him. This change in mentality could be from a new coaching staff or could be self-imposed following a particularly tough playoff exit. Still, if it continues, there may not be a team in the league that can contain Embiid for 48 minutes. He went scoreless for an entire quarter and still finished the game with 29 points.
While Embiid took over the game on offense, Ben Simmons made a statement on the other end. Simmons didn’t necessarily have it going offensively to start the game but managed to find other ways to have an influence.
Ben finished the game with 16 points, but his 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals made a difference; he seemingly ended opponents’ possessions at will.
Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
While there will be nights where opponents can stop Simmons from having much of an impact on offense, there may not be a way to game plan against the plays he can make on the defensive end. Simmons also spent time in the off-ball role we saw from him in the playoffs two seasons ago when Brett Brown had Jimmy Butler run the offense, only this time Simmons appeared to understand what he needed to do. With Embiid working two-man handoffs with shooters from the high post, Simmons could patrol the baseline and wait for his defender to help off of him.
If opponents are planning to double team Embiid, they won’t want to help off shooters like Seth Curry; if they do send help from Simmons’ man, hopefully, he can continue to put himself in the right position to be a threat.
Neither Simmons nor Embiid were dominant from start to finish in their first game, but both took over when necessary and showed elements of their games that other teams may not be able to stop this year.
There appears to be a change in mentality in both the Sixers’ stars this year, and it could be a bad sign for the rest of the league.
Featured Image: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
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Categorized:Sixers