Category: 76ers

Report: Ben Simmons healthy, available vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Philadelphia 76ers point gaurd Ben Simmons will return against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons will reportedly be available to play in tonight’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Simmons, who has been out since spraining his shoulder’s right AC joint early in Philly’s 106-104 loss to the Utah Jazz last Wednesday, is poised to return to a team that has sorely missed him.

After dropping their third game in a row to the Denver Nuggets on Friday, the Sixers should easily be able to turn things around and end their skid with the Australian’s return to the lineup now that he is available, according to Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin.

While chemistry has been a bit of an issue in recent games as the team has sought to establish a consistent rotation after adding several high-profile players like Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the offseason, the team should respond well with Simmons back in the fold, even with the Cavs being a better team than their 4-5 record suggests.

The LSU product has had some troubles of his own early this season, logging his worst shooting (49.4 % from the floor) and lowest scoring (13.1 points per game), rebounding (5.4 per game) and assists (6.9 per game) of his three-year career.

But, much if not all of that is due to the decreased spacing and as-of-yet-unsolved chemistry issues which have resulted from so many major internal changes.

Look to Simmons to put his passing on display against a relatively smaller and defense-poor (currently possessing the league’s 17th-worst) Cavaliers tonight, returning the franchise many picked to lead the East this season back on their expected trajectory.

Sixers vs. Cavaliers preview: Sixers look to make it two wins in a row

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to make it two wins in a row against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Philadelphia 76ers returned home on Sunday and put a screeching halt on a dreadful three-game losing streak by knocking off the Charlotte Hornets. Now, they will look to make it a winning streak when they host Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

They will have to do it without Al Horford, who will miss the game for a scheduled rest day with it being the first game of a back-to-back, and possibly without Ben Simmons who is still dealing with an ailing AC joint sprain. The Sixers are a perfect 3-0 at home and they will need the contributions of others to make sure they get to 4-0.

With that being said, it’s time to dive into this matchup with the works:

How to watch Sixers vs. Cavaliers

  • Date: Tuesday, November 12
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
  • TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBATV

Injury report

  • Sixers: OUT: Al Horford(rest) QUESTIONABLE: Ben Simmons(right AC joint sprain) DOUBTFUL: Shake Milton(left knee bone bruise)
  • Cavaliers: OUT: John Henson(right hamstring strain), Dylan Windler(left lower leg stress reaction), Ante Zizic(left foot plantar fascitis)

Storylines

Limiting turnovers

Despite the 6-3 start, turnovers have been an eyesore for the Sixers. They committed 20 in their win over the Hornets on Sunday and it’s something that coach Brett Brown lamented after it was all over.

This is what I tell the team: until we can fix this, this is a house built on sand. It is fool’s gold and we have to find a discipline and a better way to control that. The turnovers in the first half, some of them were live ball, a lot of them were just getting things batted out of our hands. We can’t fool ourselves, this is a problem. This is a problem and we need to own it.

The Sixers are now committing 18.8 turnovers per game which is good for 28th in the league. That will not get it done for a championship-contending team.

I’m the head coach. I’ve got to find a way to fix it. There needs to be a level of accountability with the players and that’s that. It’s not anything we take lightly, we don’t dismiss it, the times are over where you’re looking at some of the young guys and you can justify it. You can’t do that anymore and it’s time that we get better at that. The players know it, they understand it, but we’ve got to fix it.

Chemistry

The Sixers are a relatively new group. New players like Horford and Josh Richardson as well as reserves Raul Neto and Trey Burke have all played a key role on this Sixers team this season. That causes some confusion on the floor with guys learning a new scheme and it can be the cause of a lot of turnovers. Due to this fact, Richardson tries to put it into perspective for a lot of people.

It felt great, a win is always a great. A win is always positive energy in the locker room so after a tough skid, I think it was good for us to come out here and get this win. You’ve got to remember though we’ve only been playing together for three weeks, honestly in games so it’s going to take time for everything to jell.

Prediction

The Cavaliers will not be an easy win for the Sixers. Coach John Beilein has done a terrific job here in the early going of getting the most out of his players and getting them to play hard and Kevin Love is back healthy averaging 18.3 points and 13.4 rebounds for Cleveland. Also, Tristan Thompson is always a problem on the glass so it will be up to Joel Embiid to hold up his end of the bargain with Horford out resting. The Sixers are the more talented team so they should win, but it won’t be easy.

Pick: Sixers in a close one

Sixers vs. Cavaliers season series

Game 1 November 12:

Game 2 November 17:

Game 3 December 7:

Game 4 February 26:

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Sixers rookie Marial Shayok impresses again on offense for Blue Coats

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Marial Shayok continues his terrific offensive play for the Delaware Blue Coats.

While the Philadelphia 76ers continue to figure it out on the court in terms of chemistry, the younger Sixers are continuing their development down in the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats.

After an impressive showing in their season opener, rookie Marial Shayok had another big game. He followed up his 34 points in the opener by dropping 42 points while also pulling down nine rebounds to help the Blue Coats knock off the Greensboro Swarm 141-135 to even their record at 1-1.

Shayok shot 14-for-27 from the floor and he knocked down three of his nine attempts from deep. One of his triples was a pull-up three-pointer to beat the buzzer to give Delaware a 67-64 halftime lead. It was impressive to see the young man show off the poise to make that shot.

As for the other big name in Delaware, Zhaire Smith had eight points and five rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Smith continues to play within himself and show more on the defensive end rather than on offense. Shayok is more of a scorer and he really has been able to show that off here in the early going of the G League season.

The Blue Coats next play on Friday when they hit the road to face the Long Island Nets. [lawrence-related id=19103,19093,19083]

Al Horford out, Ben Simmons questionable for Sixers matchup with Cavs

The Philadelphia 76ers will have a few more injury issues to handle on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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As the Philadelphia 76ers look to make it two straight wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, they will have to do so while missing some key players.

The Inquirer.com’s Keith Pompey is reporting that Al Horford will miss the contest due to a scheduled rest day, Ben Simmons is still questionable with his right shoulder AC joint injury, and Shake Milton is doubtful due to the lingering bone bruise in his left knee.

The news will cause coach Brett Brown to continue to play with his rotations. With Simmons out, Brown has turned to Raul Neto and Trey Burke to handle the point guard duties and that pushed out rookie Matisse Thybulle. With Horford out on Tuesday, one has to wonder if that opens the door dor Thybulle to re-enter the rotation.

With Tuesday being the team’s 10th game, it will mean they will possibly have to change their starting lineup for the 5th time in the early season. That causes the team to continue to have chemistry issues which then causes them to commit a high number of turnovers. The team really needs a clean bill of health for them to continue to grow as a team.

The Sixers and the Cavaliers tip-off at 7:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday. [lawrence-related id=19083,19074,19038]

Nine games into the year, Brett Brown is figuring out Sixers rotation

Nine games into the 2019-20 season, coach Brett Brown is still figuring out the Sixers rotation.

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The Philadelphia 76ers still have a lot to figure out after nine games. They still have to figure out things like who is going to be the closer with the game on the line, how will Joel Embiid and Al Horford really work together, and they’re still developing team chemistry.

One thing that will still need to be figured out is the rotation. Big things like who’s the backup point guard and what to do with rookie Matisse Thybulle who has been out of the rotation since Ben Simmons’ injury.

A big change in coach Brett Brown’s rotation, due to the Simmons injury, has been Raul Neto starting at point guard and Trey Burke being used as a backup. This is notable due to the fact that Josh Richardson was being used as the primary backup point guard when Simmons was healthy and in the lineup.

With everything that has happened in the first nine games, Brown is still experimenting as he stated:

I wouldn’t say anything is set. We’re finding our way and we have different options. I think that the phrase that I like to use, ‘horses for courses,’ is based on who you’re playing and who’s playing well. I don’t feel married to anything this early in the season. You just figure it out. I won’t put a death spell on any of the players either. I feel open to playing the people that I think it’s going to take to win that night.

Does that mean the Sixers will go back to Thybulle in the rotation once Simmons returns? Will Burke go back to being buried at the end of the bench? Will Richardson go back to backup point guard responsibilities? These are questions that Brown will have to answer and figure out.

I feel like there are outliers in every game. It is possible to put Raul Neto and Trey Burke in the rotation with Ben Simmons. Those two guards have played well and it’s exciting. It’s one of those in-game adjustments that you could make, knowing that it is a unique lineup.

At the end of the day, the team is 6-3 and they are in a good spot in the early going of the season. The challenge now is for Brown and his staff to figure out a solid rotation and settle on it. It doesn’t help that Simmons is out right now and Embiid’s absences have put a wrench into the plan, but it must be figured out soon. [lawrence-related id=19083,19074,19064]

Al Horford says chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing for Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford says the chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing.

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For the Philadelphia 76ers to truly reach their full potential, they will need Al Horford and Joel Embiid to form some real, unbreakable chemistry. They need them to be able to play off each other and become the formidable duo the Sixers envisioned when they brought in Horford in free agency.

On Sunday night in a win over the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid had 18 points and nine rebounds while Horford added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. It has been tough for the two to actually get some court time in the early going as Embiid has missed three of the team’s first nine games of the season, but Horford does see some progress in their on-court relationship.

Yeah, I do believe that it is progressing. For me, it’s continuing to understand what we’re trying to do on the offenisve end and just kind of being in the right place and right time for him and for our group and not necessarily thinking like ‘oh what’s this play?’ so it’s coming along. I think everything takes time to be perfect, but it is coming along.

The Sixers are going against the current NBA trend with two traditional big men start in Horford and Embiid so it can be a bit clunky and disorganized a bit in the early going. The only thing that can continue to help them is time and continuing to play together. They just need to continue to trend in the right direction. [lawrence-related id=19038,19027,19013]

Despite win, Brett Brown says Sixers turnovers are a ‘problem’

Despite a win on Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown was not happy with the turnovers the team committed.

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The Philadelphia 76ers picked up a much-needed 114-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday to put a stop to a three-game losing skid and it gave some good vibes to the team. However, despite the win, there are still some issues the Sixers must figure out.

One of them is limiting turnovers which have been their biggest issue to begin the season. Their turnovers cost them the game in Denver to end the road trip and their 20 turnovers on Sunday, 12 of which came in the first half, were an eyesore.

Coach Brett Brown understands that this is a new team and it will take time to figure everything out, but the turnovers are an issue as he stated:

This is what I tell the team: until we can fix this, this is a house built on sand. It is fool’s gold and we have to find a discipline and a better way to control that. The turnovers in the first half, some of them were live ball, a lot of them were just getting things batted out of our hands. We can’t fool ourselves, this is a problem. This is a problem and we need to own it.

Generally, turnovers are a coaching issue that needs to be taken care of and it falls on Brown and his staff to help the players understand their issue so they can grow in that area.

I’m the head coach. I’ve got to find a way to fix it. There needs to be a level of accountability with the players and that’s that. It’s not anything we take lightly, we don’t dismiss it, the times are over where you’re looking at some of the young guys and you can justify it. You can’t do that anymore and it’s time that we get better at that. The players know it, they understand it, but we’ve got to fix it. That’s how I see the turnover thing in general.

Tobias Harris, who had a team-high four turnovers to go along with his 14 points, has accepted his role in the turnover issue and understands that he needs to better as well.

Yeah, I mean that’s been our biggest thing this year. A lot of them have just come from myself, like today with two travels in the beginning. We were continuing to find each other and our spots. We were looking at how we want to play and things we can do to execute better, so if we can just limit the turnovers to half of those and protect the ball a little bit better, I think that’ll help us out a whole lot.

The Sixers entered the night ranked 20th in the league in turnovers averaging 18.5 per game and with the 20 they tallied on Sunday, the number will rise a tad.

A lot of it is due to the newness of the team and it will take time to get the chemistry down pat and for them to feel each other out, but this is a very real issue for Philadelphia. They can get away with it against the Hornets, but against the better teams, it will cost them games.