The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference and they are already sending Joel Embiid to Atlanta for the All-Star game on March 7 as he was voted in as a starter. Doc Rivers will also be there as coach of Team Durant, but there should be other Sixers joining them in Atlanta.
Both Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons are vying to be All-Stars for the 2020-21 season as well. For Simmons, it would be his third straight selection if he gets in and for Harris, this would be his first selection.
The two of them have put up some really good numbers with Harris averaging a career-high in points and shooting a career-high from the floor while also getting it done on defense. Then, there’s Simmons who does not have a glorious stat line, 15.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists, but the two of them have certainly made an All-Star case.
“Yeah,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I think there’s a lot of guys that deserve to make the All-Star team, but I think record has to be a factor, it does.”
He does have a point. The Sixers entered Sunday’s game with the Toronto Raptors with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 20-10 and they have received contributions from a lot of people including Simmons and Harris along with Embiid.
“I think anybody can get numbers on a bad team,” Rivers continued. “Somebody’s got to score but I think it’s hard to play well on a good team, it’s much harder. I don’t think people give that enough thought. We ask players on championship teams to sacrifice shots, pass the ball, play defense, just to so many other things contribute to winning.”
There are plenty of guys in the league who put up good numbers, but their team is bad. They don’t have a choice but to score the ball. However, a guy on a good team will make it happen on the floor and make sure he is helping his team win in the process like Harris and Simmons.
“That always affects your numbers, they’re not gonna be as good, but your team wins,” Rivers finished. “Yet, fans, media, I hear talk about these guys on sub-.500 teams, and it just blows me away. Tobias can get the same numbers, anywhere, bigger numbers on a bad team, but what he’s doing is winning basketball. I think him and Ben should get more credit.”
The reserves will be announced on Feb. 23 so the two of them will find out soon enough.
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