Sixers

No All Stars, No Issues – Observations from Sixers 127, Bulls 105

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 12th, 2021 · 9:19 AM EST

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Rhetorical question –

Can you get excited for a Sixers game, coming out of the All Star break, when Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are sidelined for some BS contact tracing?

The answer is probably no. There probably wasn’t a lot of juice going into this game, but we were pleasantly surprised by a comprehensive performance from Tobias Harris and the supporting cast as the Sixers put up 127 on a Bulls team that isn’t that great, but still has some quality pieces and had the advantage of playing at home.

It’s a very good win, circumstances considered. Harris went for 24. Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz added 26. Tony Bradley didn’t miss a single shot, combining with Dwight Howard to go 15-19 from the floor on Thursday night.

“They were fantastic,” said Doc Rivers, postgame. “32 points and 17 rebounds, five blocked shots. They just played with great energy. I thought both of them played within themselves. We fell into something offensively that we felt we could be successful at. They kept doing it, kept finding the ball, guys kept finding them. Really happy for both of them, and we needed it. It was a big win for us. When you have (Ben and Joel) out and you can win your first game coming out of the break on the road, it says a lot about your team.”

“We just did a lot of things good, and I thought we played under control throughout the game.”

Weight watchers

If we’re looking for a key takeaway beyond “the supporting cast stepped up,” then it’s this –

With the nature of the crunched schedule in the back half, Joel Embiid isn’t going to be available every game. They’re going to need Howard and Bradley to start games, and spell each other off the bench. That’s why the third center position is a little more important than Sixers fans might realize, because when Embiid is load managed down the stretch and “delivered” to the playoffs, as Brett Brown liked to say, they’ll have to rely on the Howard/Bradley combo to log meaningful minutes in an effort to preserve the number one seed and stay atop the conference.

Embiid is certainly aware of that:

That’s it!!! I’ve seen enough. Build around Tony Bradley @sixers

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) March 12, 2021

Said Rivers of Embiid’s support:

“Well number one, he better be watching the game, because that’s his job, him and Ben (laughing). Number two, I love the support, especially with Tony. Tony has lost a good 25 pounds since the season started. He works every single day on his body and on his skill. Just because he doesn’t play doesn’t mean the other guys don’t know what he’s doing. I thought the entire bench was so happy for him as he was playing. The first two baskets, Dwight was running around the floor celebrating, because they see the work. The fans aren’t always able to see the work that’s done by the guys who don’t play, and that was good for all of us.”

RE: Bradley, and Howard at the center position, there wasn’t anything fancy going on, I thought they just did a really nice job reading and rolling and getting to quality spots around the rim.

This was my favorite set involving Bradley:

This is just solid two-option basketball here. Throw the ball to your big at the top of the arc, and then you’ve got mirrored pin down screens on each half of the floor. Bradley decides which side to play, and then he flows into a dribble hand-off and rolls hard to the basket when Patrick Williams goes over the screen.

It’s really simple stuff, and they did a nice job executing last night.

“I thought we came out tonight with good effort and good energy, and Tony Bradley, I call him the battery pack,” Howard joked. “He had his battery pack on. He was the Energizer Bunny. He came out, got some good blocks, good rebounds, finished around the basket. Thought he had an amazing game and sparked us tonight. I’m real proud of the young fella. He got a start and he played great.”

Screening to create confusion

Doc Rivers noted that the Sixers were in some situations where they decided to use Matisse Thybulle as a screener in order to create some defensive confusion when Lauri Markkanen was guarding him.

Thiago at The Painted Lines pulled one of those clips and posted it on Twitter:

Sixers used Thybulle as a screener to target LaVine + Markkanen (boy are those two A MESS communicating defensively)

Screening Matisse is something I am very interested to see Doc explore pic.twitter.com/WvVgVc2mNL

— Thiago (@ThiagoPHL) March 12, 2021

In that sequence, Markkanen wants to switch, but Zach LaVine does not. So Thybulle essentially just slips the screen and pops out for wide-open catch and shoot three-point look.

That’s good coaching there, good recognition of the other team’s defensive tendencies, or shortcomings. And great execution from Matisse, who makes the right read, gathers the pass, and just fires from downtown. To make those split-second decisions in an automatic nature shows maturity and growth from a second-year defensive specialist.

Entertaining game. Good win. Great way to come out of the break without your two All Stars.