No Embiid, no problem.

Despite missing one of their biggest personalities on the team, announced 15 minutes before tip due to a left knee injury, the #HeelSixers dominated Brooklyn for the majority of Game 3 thanks to another big personality – Ben Simmons. 31 points, nine assists, four rebounds, three blocks, two steals, a 131-115 win over the Nets. The boos did something to him in a very positive way. So much for this “wanted” sign:

Jared Dudley, the bench guy that called Simmons average, finished with… a rebound, two turnovers, and went 0-2 from 3. He airballed one of them.

Greg Monroe got a very surprise start and he did alright, scoring nine points with 13 rebounds and one assist to go along with a block and a steal. Boban Marjanovic stayed as the backup and provided another big performance by scoring 14 points with eight rebounds and an assist despite being fouled out with seven minutes left in the game.

Tobias Harris had a huge game that was overshadowed by the performance of Simmons. He put up 29 points and 16 rebounds with three assists for a double-double, going a perfect 6-for-6 from 3. JJ Redick dropped 26 and was 5-for-9 from 3.

If the Sixers want to win this series, performances from Simmons and Harris need to continue. I wonder if the team decides to rest Embiid for the rest of the round if they can continue winning without him. I’d like to see him play, but if he can’t go after two days off that says something. Watch his status for Saturday.

Game 4 is Saturday at 3 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia and TNT. NBC Sports Philadelphia + will return the betting focused broadcast (which I wasn’t a fan of when it first aired to be honest).

Meanwhile off the court, the New York Daily News cut ties with Chris Sheridan (Sheridan tweeted out he’s still with the NYDN but no one listens to him anyway) and he defended his original column in a column on a different site I’ve never heard of.

But in much bigger news, HughE Dillon has beef with Terez Owens over Bendall.

The Roundup:

Out in Denver, the Phillies fell to the Rockies 6-2 as Rockies first baseman Ryan McMahon hit two home runs for a total of five RBIs in the win. Zach Eflin went six innings and gave up three runs off seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

The only bright spot for the Phils was JT Realmuto who threw out two baserunners and hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Carlos Estévez. Prior to that, the Phils were stumped by Kyle Freeland who gave up just two hits and struck out seven in six innings of pitching.

The series concludes this weekend with three more games, beginning tonight at 8:40 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia with Vince Velasquez taking the mound. Aaron Nola is scheduled to pitch and looks to rebound Saturday night, followed by Jerad Eickhoff on Sunday afternoon.

On the injury front, Odubel Herrera landed on the 10-day injured list and Roman Quinn was activated off the injured list to take his spot.

The Flyers officially introduced Alain Vigneault as the next head coach of the organization.

In news that may affect the Flyers, the Yankees dropped Kate Smith’s recording of “God Bless America” after finding out she recorded two racist songs back in the 1930s. The Flyers didn’t play her recording at all last year and they won’t in the future because this just happened.

Eagles safety Rodney McLeod hopes to be ready for training camp. That’d be good.

DraftKings Sportsbook is offering odds on all Birds games. It’s never too early to bet.

In other sports news, the St. Louis Blues won a crazy Game 5 against the Winnipeg Jets, while San Jose kept their series alive and Carolina won their Game 4 against Washington.

In more hockey news, the Detroit Red Wings will name Steve Yzerman their general manager later this afternoon.

Golden State and San Antonio won their NBA Game 3s.

In the news, the Aston Township carnival was permanently shut down after a large fight broke out. Typical Delco.

Joe Biden will be running for President.