The Philadelphia 76ers already had one of the more talented starting lineups in the league led by their start duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, but it’s not just those two right now. The team is getting a ton of help from the other three starters.
In Saturday’s 132-103 Game 3 win over the Washington Wizards on the road, the starting unit of the Sixers went to work scoring a combined 100 points led by 36 from Embiid and 20 from Tobias Harris. Philadelphia continues to be efficient in this series on offense as they have now scored 125 points in Game 1 followed by 130 in Game 2 and 132 in Game 3.
That is due to the strong start and the tone set by the starters. They have been terrific on the defensive end making life miserable for Washington stars Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal and that allows them to get out in transition and play with pace.
“I think we’re just connected right now,” said Simmons who had 14 and nine assists. “We know we got a lot of games to play to get where we want to go and it starts on defense for us. We got to lead by example, all of us, when you got everybody doing it, willing to play defense, and then offense, that’s just coming naturally for us. It’s, great to see. It just makes the game so much easier.”
Philadelphia built a 16-point lead in the first quarter on Saturday and that was due to the fact that they held Washington to 44.4% shooting and just 1-for-9 from deep while the Sixers knocked down four triples and were just more physical.
“It’s extremely balanced which always is a great thing and we’re just out there flowing off one another and each other,” said Harris who shot 8-for-14 on the night. “As we started the playoffs, the one thing that we just want to continue to build that trust and it starts defensively. Us being able to communicate with one another, use our voices, and then that just rolls right over to the offensive end.”
Of course, it helps that the Sixers drilled 17 triples out of the 33 they shot and that makes life easier for everybody on the offensive end. However, that comes with work as the starters were able to get into their groove on that end.
“I thought the first unit, really their ball moving tonight,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Obviously, we made a lot of shots. You shoot the ball that well, you’re gonna win a lot of games.”
The more impressive thing is, they are recognizing things quicker as a unit. In Game 1, it was Harris and Embiid, in Game 2 it was Embiid and Simmons, and in Game 3, it was everybody as all five starters scored in double figures.
“You can just see us in these games,” Harris added. “Game 2, Joel seeing other guys get to it and he was fine with that. Tonight, we Joel having his way and we’re going right to him. That’s a real team playing, and figuring out how to be great.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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