When it comes to the chances of the Philadelphia 76ers, it will come down to their star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to lead the way. Sure, the team added some better pieces around them to help the team succeed, but ultimately, it will come down to the stars in the playoffs.
Embiid has shouldered his load as he has built up an early case for MVP and he has carried the Sixers to wins. As for Simmons, he continues to be an all-around triple-double threat as well as being one of the elite defenders in the game, but there seems to be something missing in his game, most notably on the offensive end.
He still has not yet shown a want to shoot the ball outside the paint and there are still too many instances of him driving only to do jump, spring around, and pass back out to the perimeter. Philadelphia is winning games so this could be viewed as nitpicking, but with his skill and size, Simmons could be scoring at a more efficient level.
As the team took on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, former NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce was asked if the Sixers could close the gap on the Celtics in the Eastern Conference. He doesn’t think they can and it’s due to Simmons and his offensive game.
Pierce said:
I don’t think so and the main reason I feel that way is because I don’t feel like Ben Simmons has gotten any better. If you’re gonna elevate to the next level and be championship contenders it has to come from your stars. Yes, Embiid looks better, they’ve added coaching staff but they can’t they’re not going to be on the court with you. They added Seth Curry, but until Ben Simmons makes that next jump, I just don’t think so. I mean, we’ve seen (Jayson) Tatum get better we’ve seen (Jaylen) Brown get better, Kemba’s (Walker) going to come back healthy, and so I really don’t see the gap closing right there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_HMiJnNpo&feature=youtu.be
The Sixers did end up winning Wednesday’s game as they received a huge night from Embiid and Simmons was terrific on the defensive end of the floor, but Philadelphia could use more scoring from Simmons on offense. On the flip side, as long as the Sixers are winning games, this could be a nitpicking point.
The Sixers and the Celtics will match up again on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=iOYtEZ5OVj-1120605-7498&autoplay=on&V=2&format=json
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