Wednesday night’s clash between the top seed in the Eastern and Western Conference certainly responded to the hype.
In the end, the Sixers won 131-123 in overtime, because they had the best player on the pitch. They may simply have the best NBA player during the first half of the season.
Joel Embiid tied the game at the end of the regulation by hitting a heroic three-point ball from the right wing, despite being saved by Bojan Bogdanovic.
Mike Conley’s right runner in Utah’s final possession did not fall, sending the game into overtime, where the Sixers maintained their momentum.
Embiid had 40 points from 14 of 27 shots and 19 rebounds. Ben Simmons scored 17 points and conceded six assists.
The All-Star Game will take place on Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia. Sixers coach Doc Rivers and his team will lead the team led by Kevin Durant, while Simmons and Embiid will be chosen in the All-Star draft on Thursday night. Fans will be allowed to watch the next game at the home of the Sixers, which is scheduled for March 14.
Here are three observations about the Sixers’ dramatic 24-12 victory over Utah:
Incredible embiid against another DPOY contender
From the first blow, it looked like Embiid was well positioned for a comfortable offensive night. His first two baskets were a by-product of the Sixers noticeably taking Rudy Gobert twice Defensive Player of the Year from the hoop, while Embiid converted a jump on the pick-and-roll foul line and made a tray when he rolled after starting a dribbling handoff on the wing with Seth Curry.
The Sixers fed Embiid for consecutive mid-range jumpers after Derrick Favors replaced, with Utah’s reserve pivot unable to remove Embiid from his post or significantly contest his pitches. In addition to the tough pairs from various angles, there doesn’t seem to be a strategy to stop Embiid from getting the looks he wants.
Once again, his strength and skill were an overwhelming combination. He should remain a serious MVP candidate throughout the season, as long as he avoids serious injuries. In 30 games, he averaged 30.2 points per contest.
As for Simmons, Embiid’s Sixers All-Star teammate, he had an efficient night, scoring 8 of his 11 field goals. Donovan Mitchell (33 points out of 12 out of 34 shots) played well for much of the game against Simmons, entering a few open pull-up trios outside of effective ball screens and also simply hitting some difficult kicks when Simmons got in front of him and Jazz was looking for a look at the end of the shot clock.
However, Simmons did an excellent job of preventing Mitchell in the fourth quarter and in overtime. Mitchell was 3 in 13 after the third period.
“I’m just going to keep saying, Ben, if he doesn’t win (Defensive Player of the Year) – and I never campaign – this may be my last campaign speech, except for president … he keeps the best every night,” he said Rivers. ” Donovan Mitchell, if you look at just 33 points … he was 12 out of 34. Nobody does that to him, and Ben does that, and he does that every night for everyone. He’s been amazing. He needs more credit. “
Giving a big long-range advantage
Jazz scored 39 more points behind the hoop than the Sixers. Utah scored 21 out of 44 points out of three, while the Sixers scored 8 out of 25.
Probably recognizing that the Sixers were not having a good night in the three-point range and that Embiid was thriving whenever he had a 1-on-1 clash, Jazz coach Quin Snyder granted possession of the defense in the second quarter. Embiid alone defeated him with a powerful base drive, converting a unique layup.
Although Rivers said before the game that he is more concerned with the Sixers trying to shoot high-quality shots – not necessarily three – it is obvious that the team would benefit from making more long-range attempts, as long as they do not play tons of disputed 27-foot shots. closely. .
Embiid asked for snipers this off-season, and the wish came true when basketball operations president Daryl Morey acquired Curry and Danny Green. While the Sixers may try to resolve their low-volume three-point problem internally, Morey will certainly be considering potential firing boosts before the March 25 deadline. Embiid himself said after the defeat of the Sixers to the Cavaliers that the team needs to take three more. Your opinion is rightly important in the organization.
Green made three points in 1-6 shots, four rebounds, a steal and a block. Not for the first time, Shake Milton was the logical choice to end the game against the 33-year-old. Rivers also used Matisse Thybulle as a defensive substitute at the end of the game.
Tobias Harris returned after a two-game absence due to a bruised right knee and scored 22 points from a 9-out-of-18 shot. Although his mid-range game was possibly a little rusty at the start, the most important thing is that he is healthy and must be available for important games of the second half.
He was sharp and secure during overtime, giving the Sixers eight key points on the crossbar and overcoming Jazz by himself, 11-5, in the extra session. His isolation scoring ability is very valuable, especially when the opponents’ whole focus is on preventing Embiid from catching the ball and double-teaming when he receives it.
All-bench lineup is an interesting choice
Even against the team with the best record in the NBA, Rivers thought that the Sixers could keep the game played at the end of the first period and at the beginning of the second with a totally bank lineup. Although Furkan Korkmaz and Milton had a total of 12 points in the first half, the second unit approach did not work, as the Sixers’ bank allowed Utah to increase its lead to 13 points.
In the second half of the season, we imagine that Rivers will mix the minutes of his departure more regularly with those of his second unit. The circumstances would have to be quite unusual for the Sixers to use five bank players simultaneously in a playoff game, and therefore it is probably not worth not to play such formations frequently in competitive situations.
Dwight Howard had difficult first minutes on both sides of the ball, missing two shots close to the edge and allowing Gobert to score an offensive rebound. Thybulle was the central defender in Jordan Clarkson, a smart decision by Rivers that helped the Sixers to limit the Sixth Man of the Year to 10 points on a 3 in 10 shot, 30 less than he scored against the Sixers on February 15. Korkmaz’s counterfeit bomb allowed him to draw a foul on a three-point shot and drain a wide-open open attempt, although Jazz sometimes targeted him defensively.
Rivers maintained the same lineup in the second half. This group did better, partly thanks to a surprising streak in which Howard made the 13th of his NBA career, then stole Gobert’s ball, brought it down and ended up dividing a couple of free throws.
He blocked a shot from Conley in possession of the ball that followed, leading to a Korkmaz basket at the other end. Unlikely, the Sixers had tied the game in ’92, and Rivers’ substitution pattern did not seem so reckless. Mike Scott’s three in the right corner about a minute later put the Sixers in the lead and gave the team holders (with Milton in place of Green) a good chance of winning the game.
“That was really encouraging,” said Rivers. “In fact, we entered the game thinking that Dwight would play less minutes and we would play a lot with Mike in the five against Gobert, but Dwight played so well that we were able to play our normal five, which was great.”