Last season, an away game against a less talented opponent, after two encouraging victories over an Eastern Conference opponent, probably would have been a problem for the Sixers. They missed several frustrating games that fit that description or were very close to that.
Although it was not easy, the team did not replicate this trend and took care of business Saturday night in Detroit, beating the Pistons 114-110 and moving to 12-5.
Detroit lost seventh place in the overall choice, Killian Hayes (right hip sprain), Blake Griffin (left knee injury treatment) and Derrick Rose (left knee injury). Vincent Poirier and Mike Scott remained out of the Sixers because of NBA health and safety protocols and swelling of the right knee, respectively.
The Sixers will be in Detroit to play the Pistons again on Monday night. Here are the notes on the win to open the miniseries:
Simmons thrives, makes up for the bank’s night off
Like Joel Embiid on Friday night, Ben Simmons had a good start interrupted by problems. Before being charged with his second foul at 4:56 from the end of the first period, he scored eight points, three rebounds and two assists, effectively down the hill.
For the second consecutive game, players on the Sixers’ bench did not do well during their time on the ground at the end of the first and the beginning of the second period, making sloppy mistakes that helped the Pistons thrive in the transition. Although the Sixers achieved valuable performances on their bench at the start of the season, the team’s second unit formations sometimes seem unstable.
Altogether, the Sixers’ bank was overtaken by 55-23 by Detroit’s second unit.
Dwight Howard did his best to provide physicality and energy, but was called for an offensive foul when he fought for an offensive rebound and Pistons rookie Isaiah Stewart tore off part of his shorts. The big-time veteran caught a technical foul by discussing the disconcerting call, as you can see in the video above.
As for Simmons, he resumed his aggressive offensive mentality after that trouble-induced period on the bench. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, adding nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals in a characteristically diverse performance.
With a 10-in-12 free-throw performance, Simmons has already hit 65.9 percent of his free throws this season.
Simmons’ main defensive mission was Jerami Grant. Although the Process Era Sixer had by far the most productive NBA season, it had a bad night against Simmons and the Sixers, scoring 11 points from 3-in-19 shots. It certainly isn’t the first time that one of Simmons’ clashes has had a game below average.
Even though the missed open shots are part of what went wrong for Grant, it is no coincidence that Simmons often makes his opponent’s main offensive threat appear much less potent than usual. Simmons swallowed Grant in an especially impressive possession in the third quarter, mirroring his movements at the baseline, throwing the ball loose and forcing a ball into the air. If he remains healthy, Simmons apparently has the talent to accumulate First Team All-Defensive honors year after year.
Overcome against Embiid, again
Almost every time Embiid plays, it seems mandatory to note that he has an advantageous matchup, as if to indicate that his prodigious production comes with a significant caveat. When it happens so often, though, it says something about how difficult Embiid is to defend. The apparent formula to slow him down is to form pairs at the right times, making him perform medium-range kicks and avoiding fouls. It is much easier to speak than to do.
Miles Plumlee, Stewart and former teammate Jahlil Okafor were the players charged with protecting Embiid, who was listed as questionable at the start of the game because of the tightness in his back. None had any convincing response against the three-time All-Star, although Embiid was not as sharp or efficient as during the scan of the Sixers’ miniseries on the Celtics. He scored 80 points in 34 goal attempts against Boston.
Embiid still recorded 33 points on Saturday on 10 of 20 shots and 14 rebounds, however, and nothing in his game was surprisingly brilliant or exceptional by the high standards he set. These types of presentations seem regularly within reach.
Grinding one out
Detroit had a considerable advantage over the Sixers in three-point shots during the first half, hitting 9 out of 15 long-range attempts compared to the Sixers’ 2 in 8 mark. The Pistons were very successful in running Wayne Ellington (17 points) around the screens, and the Sixers were occasionally relaxed about not tracking snipers well or going through them.
The team’s defense was also not perfect after the break. However, the facts are that the Sixers overcame a deficit of 11 points in the first half to win away from home in the second half in a row. The Six did well to overcome these sub-ideal circumstances.