As the Philadelphia 76ers enter the All-Star break, the talk surrounding the team is not a championship run, but the idea that their All-Star duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can’t co-exist together.
As both players are in Chicago to represent the Sixers in the All-Star game on Sunday, they had to answer those questions at media day on Saturday. Embiid was first up as he fired back at the critics who say the two of them can’t play together calling it “BS” and now it was Simmons’ turn.
Simmons first laughed off the question about the two of them not being able to co-exist asking “who are these people?”, but he then gave a real answer as he told reporters in Chicago:
It takes time. Not everything is supposed to be perfect…I love playing with Joel. I think he’s an amazing talent and I’ve got a lot of respect for his game and I know he feels the same way about me so as long as we continue to strive and go the right way, I think we will be fine.
#Sixers PG @BenSimmons25 on people saying he and Joel Embiid can’t co-exist long term: pic.twitter.com/6xjaYRW5d9
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 15, 2020
The Sixers, obviously, have a lot of work to do in order to make this roster work and go after the championship they crave, but Simmons and Embiid have proven they can succeed together in the past. The new pieces around them have just made things a bit tougher for them to operate.
The two will oppose each other in the All-Star game on Sunday in Chicago as they are on opposite teams for the game. [lawrence-related id=25871,25847,25796]