The Philadelphia 76ers was burned in the second half. They saw a 21-point lead completely disappear when they suddenly found themselves behind the Washington Wizards at home in the fourth period and needed Joel Embiid to lead them to victory at home.
The reason for that? Bradley Beal. He set a career record and tied Gilbert Arenas for the Wizards franchise record with 60 points. He scored 25 points in the third quarter and alone kept Washington afloat despite the Sixers’ offensive exit.
“Brad Beal happened,” said Embiid. “He looks too good. We were unable to stop him, but we did a better job in the fourth quarter. “
This begs the question: why didn’t coach Doc Rivers put Ben Simmons on Beal? Simmons has been arresting some of the game’s elite scorers throughout the season and he definitely could have been a big factor in stopping the Wizards super scorer.
Instead, he rolled with the combination of Danny Green and Matisse Thybulle against him.
“I think after 60 we could probably have made the change,” laughed Rivers. “We liked what Ben was doing as a traveler tonight, outside of (Russell) Westbrook, they were able to run. We think that this would allow him to get a lot of rebounds and force the counterattack. We feel strongly that we can get many easy baskets. So that part worked. The other party does not. “
Whether Simmons or not, the Sixers entered the night with the NBA’s best defensive rating. They should have had enough to stop a guy like Beal even on his best night.
The Sixers did a much better job against him in fourth place, keeping him with three points in shots from 1 to 6 in the last 12 minutes, but that’s the kind of effort that needs to be there from the start.
“We need to do this throughout the game,” said Embiid. “Wow, we have so many good defenders, there should never be any reason for someone to enter this building or on the road and throw 60 at us.”
The Sixers will move on to Thursday, where they will face another guy who has the ability to go to 60 in the form of Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets. They won’t have Kevin Durant due to health and safety protocols, but Irving is a guy capable of having great nights of goals as well. Rivers may have to consider going to Simmons in that fight earlier.