The Philadelphia 76ers are undergoing another change within the bubble in Orlando. This one is more out of necessity due to the injury to Ben Simmons, but the team is going back to the pairing of Joel Embiid and Al Horford in the time being.
Embiid and Horford each played well in their 108-101 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night with Embiid pouring in 23 points and 13 rebounds and Horford adding 21 and nine rebounds.
After being moved to the bench in order to accommodate Shake Milton moving into the starting lineup and Simmons moving over to the 4, Horford got back together with Embiid and the results were encouraging. Especially when the two of them are working the hi-low game with one of them at the high post, one of them at the low post, and they can use their unselfish play to be able to be successful.
“That’s just the way that’s going,” said Horford, slyly. “Sometimes he’s low, sometimes he’s high, vice versa, we’re figuring it out.”
Embiid, specifically, was a different player in the second half. After it appeared that he was sleepwalking in the first half with just six points and only one attempt from the foul line, he found a way to wake up in the second half. He shot 12 free throws in the second half and he finished with a big game. His aggressiveness seemed to wake everybody else up and they were able to push forward.
“I think it was Joel,” said Horford. “I think Joel changes the game for us. In the second half, he didn’t care what was going on or what they were throwing at him. He was just going to go dominate and be assertive. When he does that and he had that mindset, all I can say is ‘good luck’.”
Al Horford reacts to Joel Embiid’s big 2nd half tonight in the win over the Magic #Sixers pic.twitter.com/SsPvYfDYvk
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) August 8, 2020
Philadelphia did not look good in the first half of this game. Even while missing Simmons, they did not have the correct amount of urgency and they found themselves trailing an inferior opponent at halftime. It was time for Embiid to bust out of his shell a bit and lead the way and be the guy the team expects him to be.
“I thought that Joel Embiid came out and it was clear his disposition changed,” said coach Brett Brown. “We spoke about it a lot at halftime. I think that Joel set the fire, Joel set the tone, and it’s true. We had our best closeout period with 22 points defensively that we’ve had since we have been here. I think that Joel started with as much offensive play as much it was defensive play. Look at the free throws Joel shot in the second half as an example. I think that period in the third, that’s when it started to pivot.”
The Sixers take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday as they continue to push forward as a team. [lawrence-related id=36430,36431,36419]