The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that has stepped into the modern-day era of how basketball is played in the 2020-21 season. They acquired legitimate shooters in Seth Curry and Danny Green and they have made life easier on the offensive end of the floor for both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to get done what needs to get done.
In Saturday’s 127-112 win over the Charlotte Hornets, the Sixers knocked down 16 3-pointers with 12 coming in the first half as they built up a big lead and they were able to come away with a pretty comfortable win. Curry and Green combined for six of those 3-pointers as they both went 3-for-6 from deep.
“When we’re shooting the ball like that, we’re dangerous,” said coach Doc Rivers with a smile. “We can every night, we have great shooters. It just requires [us] to get to the right spots and spacing. If we space right and just make the simple next pass, we’ll keep hitting those shots. Joel is a load to guard and teams every night have to make a choice. One on one with Joel, they’ll go help and open up our shooters. Those are two good options for us.”
Since going 1-for-5 from deep in their season opener, Curry is shooting 16-for-28 from deep as he is beginning to show off his elite shooting touch.
“I’m just getting good shots and when I find good shots, I’m gonna shoot them at this clip,” curry explained. “It’s just a function of our offense, the way we’re playing. Everybody’s a threat out there, everybody’s touching the ball, everybody’s involved. We got good shots and when I good shots, I expect to make them at a pretty high percentage.”
Simmons earned his first triple-double of the season as he went for 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in the win. Passing to guys like Curry and Green certainly makes life easier for him.
“It’s great,” Simmons said. “I’m supposed to be able on the floor to find guys and make plays. To see those guys knocking those shots down and making me look good out there is great. They’re making my job easy when they do that.”
The Sixers have been getting good shots based on their excellent ball movement. Philadelphia has been whipping the ball around and they have done an excellent job of making the extra pass to get a great look rather than a good look. That is the way basketball is supposed to be played and it’s why they have been able to succeed so far on offense.
“We were shooting well because we’re getting open shots,” said Green.
I think most teams will shoot well if you swing the ball and find the open man. Most uncontested shots are a lot easier, obviously, we know the warm is going to turn we’re gonna have some lows or some lapses or phases where we don’t shoot as well, but at least we’re getting the best shot for our team.”
The Sixers will now move on to face the Hornets again on Monday back at the Wells Fargo Center.
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