Tag: Ben Simmons

Brett Brown, Sixers disappointed in defensive effort in loss to Magic

The Philadelphia 76ers were not happy with their defensive effort in a loss to the Orlando Magic.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that plans to hang their hat on their defense to win them games in the 2019-20 season. It’s what helped them hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday when their offense wasn’t clicking, but on Wednesday when the offense couldn’t find a groove again, the defense couldn’t back them up in a loss to the Orlando Magic.

The Magic got to the foul line 34 times and when the game mattered most in the fourth quarter, they outscored Philadelphia 32-15. It was a defensive effort that could not pick up the offense and it upset coach Brett Brown as he stated:

I think it did. I think that it did and it sure is easy to point to missed shots. You just look at a stat sheet. But, I feel like defensively is where my energies and my attention goes to at this stage and we have to do more without Joel. It takes far more of sort of a collective effort. Sometimes you can make mistakes and you have 7-foot-2 Joel Embiid putting out fires and covering things up, tonight we didn’t have that. And like I said, I give Orlando credit and I look forward to seeing exactly the detail behind the way that they scored.

Tobias Harris, who had another rough shooting night as he scored eight points on 4-for-13 shooting and 0-for-3 from deep, also was upset with the defensive effort. Harris stated:

At times it did, but when we turned the ball over it was hard for us to get our defense set and then they were making threes in transition.  We never gained a rhythm offensively against some good looks…against some more in the flow plays.

It will take a while for the Sixers to truly find their groove on the offensive end. This is a team with a lot of new parts and it will take a little bit of time to get everybody on the same page. They’ve played 11 games and the projected starting lineup has played a grand total of four games together and Ben Simmons had to leave one of those four games with an injury. This will not happen overnight on the offensive end. The defense has to be there for them.

They head to Oklahoma City on Friday to take on Chris Paul and the Thunder. [lawrence-related id=19254,19247,19239]

Sluggish Sixers fall to Magic 112-97, ends two-game win streak

The Philadelphia 76ers fall to the Orlando Magic on the road.

The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to build off a modest two-game win streak they built at home following a three-game losing streak to end a road trip. Heading back on the road, they weren’t able to find the groove as they fell to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday 112-97 to begin a three-game road trip.

Josh Richardson led Philadelphia with 19 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, Ben Simmons had 18 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Al Horford returned to score 14 points and pull down eight rebounds. The Sixers shot 8-for-30 from deep following an 8-for-38 effort on Tuesday night.

Philadelphia only shot 13 free throws all night compared to 34 for the Magic and it seemed as if the Sixers were just a bit sluggish on the night. Except for Simmons who was able to get inside a few times.

On the Orlando side, Nikola Vucevic led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds taking advantage of the fact the Sixers did not have Joel Embiid in order to rest him and Aaron Gordon added 18 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.

It was a case of the Sixers just looking a little tired. They were on the second night of a back-to-back following a battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday and they just weren’t able to finish it. They will now focus on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. [lawrence-related id=19232,19222,19150]

How to Watch Houston Rockets, NBA Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Houston Rockets Live Online.

Boasting a perennial MVP candidate and one of the most exciting offenses in the NBA, the Houston Rockets come into every season with high expectations. But with the acquisition of one of the game’s most exciting players in the offseason, the expectations surrounding the Rockets may be higher than ever. Can James Harden and Russell Westbrook bring the Rockets to new heights during the 2019-2020 season?

Watch the Houston Rockets 2019-20 Season

Next game: vs. Los Angeles Clippers, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. ET 

Local TV affiliate for the season: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Streaming option for the season: fuboTV (watch for free)

One of the biggest moves of the summer in the NBA was the decision by the Rockets to trade point guard Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder and to bring in Westbrook. The move reunited Harden and Westbrook, who helped bring the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012. That was before either player had reached his current status and become a league MVP. The question now is whether or not the two stars can coexist well enough to bring Houston a championship.

Outside of Harden and Westbrook, the rest of the Rockets roster will need to play at a high level on both sides of the court. Shooters like Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson knocking down shots will force defenses not to put too much of their attention on Harden and Westbrook, both of whom are at their best when they have room to operate and get to the basket against overmatched defenders. With offensive expert Mike D’Antoni at the helm, expect the team to find ways to space the floor and get open shots for the supporting cast.

Rockets November 2019 Schedule (All Times ET)

Wed. Nov. 13 vs. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 15 vs. Pacers, 8:00 p.m.

Sat. Nov 16 @ Timberwolves, 8:00 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 18 vs. Trail Blazers, 8:00 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 20 @ Nuggets, 9:00 p.m.

Fri. Nov. 22 @ Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

Sun. Nov 24 vs. Mavericks, 3:30 p.m.

Wed. Nov 27 vs. Heat, 8:00 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 30 vs. Hawks, 8:00 p.m.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

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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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]