The Philadelphia 76ers were able to walk away with a 109-89 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night to begin the young season 2-0. The theme for this win was defense and teamwork as they did a terrific job of locking New York down in the half-court.
The leading factor in their defense was First-Team All-Defender Ben Simmons who did a terrific job against Knicks guard RJ Barrett. Simmons harrassed the two-year guard into a rough shooting night as he missed his first nine shots and he finished 2-for-15 overall for 10 points.
“Ben has got so many skills and we’re trying to get them all out of them,” said coach Doc Rivers with a smile. “I thought, defensively he was terrific. He used his size, used his length, his instincts are unbelievable, something I didn’t know until now coaching them.”
Simmons did a terrific job of closing out on Barrett whenever he was open from deep and he forced him into a lot of tough looks. This came after Barrett shot 11-for-15 from the floor and had 26 points in their season opener against the Indiana Pacers.
“I can’t speak for other defenders, but, when you’re out there, you’re just playing basketball, and instincts kick in,” Simmons said after the win. “He’s a good player. He’s not a bad player. He can knock down those shots. I just tried to show him different looks, make sure he felt me, and make sure I have that presence. No matter who’s out there.”
With the team the Sixers throw out there every night, this is the type of effort the team expects. Philadelphia has a lot of length and they have two high-profile defenders in Simmons and Joel Embiid so that type of effort will help the team moving forward.
“I think that should be our strength this year with the lineup we have out there, especially in that starting lineup,” said Seth Curry. “We have a lot of length, a lot of versatile defenders, and Ben is all over the floor right now creating havoc for the offense and Joel’s at the rim. Even if one of us gets beat, he’s at the rim usually contesting the shot so it’s great to have two guys like that who can make up for a lot of mistakes and create turnovers.”
Philadelphia will now move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday which features two strong guards in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. Tipoff from Cleveland is set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
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