It was a long night for the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as the two combined to commit 15 of the Sixers’ 21 turnovers in a 119-113 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. It was a performance that, simply put, will not get it done in the NBA. If you turn the ball over, you’re going to lose. It’s that simple.
Embiid had a monster stat line of 26 points and 21 rebounds, but the number that people are going to remember the most is the fact that he committed eight turnovers. Simmons had 17 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds, but as with Embiid, everyone will remember only the seven turnovers he committed.
It’s an issue that will not win games in the NBA and a visibly frustrated Brett Brown was not happy afterward.
“We’re always trying to help our two young guys,” said Brown. “I think Jo had eight, Ben had seven. You’re trying to help those guys get better. It’s not going to win anything, it won’t win any game that matters, let alone a regular-season game. It’s not going to put us in any position where we can close out a game. We have to do better in that area and I gotta help them.”
Brett Brown on the turnovers by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons tonight #Sixers pic.twitter.com/ZVGVXqmzHr
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) December 6, 2019
Washington scored 30 points off of those 21 turnovers committed by the Sixers and with 15 of them coming from their All-Star leaders, it’s something to be concerned about as they move forward. The team has got to get this under control in order to make a serious run at a title.
The Sixers will have a day off to think about things before getting back at it on Saturday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers to begin a back-to-back at home. [lawrence-related id=20716,20708,20699]