Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers fail at home in a miserable defeat for the Blazers

Sixers Bell Ringer season ranking:

Joel Embiid – 10
Tobias Harris – 5
Milton Shake – 3
Ben Simmons – 2
Tyrese Maxey – 1
Dakota Mathias – 1

Ben Simmons stayed out of the game with stiffness in his left calf, and Seth Curry left the game after running to a hard screen, supposedly not feeling well (and Doc Rivers indicated that after the game there may still be remaining COVID effects). At least we can leave knowing that the full starting team is still undefeated, because there was not much to be happy about in the Sixers’ performance. The Sixers lost their first 12 3s, finally connecting in a triple Danny Green in the middle of the third quarter. While Joel Embiid’s incredible first half (below) kept Philadelphia level at halftime, it all fell apart in the third quarter, with Portland beating the Sixers 40-19. Things never improved much from there, and the Blazers ended up winning by 121-105. It was a truly terrible result for the Sixers against a Portland team without Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. Let’s choose a Bell Ringer and then forget about this one.

Joel Embiid: 37 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turns

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images

Embiid hyperextended his knee in the first quarter, falling awkwardly into an Enes Kanter chase block. The worst-case scenarios crossed the minds of Sixers fans when Embiid went into the locker room. But not only did Joel return to the game a few minutes later, he started to score 25 points only in the second quarter, drawing the Andrew Toney franchise record with the most points in a quarter. Embiid continues to hit medium-range jumpers as if he were alone in the gym with YouTube videos playing in the background. The great man finished with 14 of 21 pitches and also continued his parade until the foul line, where he hit 9 of 9. I wish Joel had received more help tonight, so that we could have seen him perform in critical time of a tough game the way he was cooking.

Isaiah Joe: 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 return

Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE photo via Getty Images

Good night to Isaiah Joe’s growing hive online, as Joe received eight minutes in the second half, knocking down two of his three attempts behind the hoop. On a night when none of the regulars managed to hit an external shot, Joe’s silky jumpsuit was a breath of fresh air.

Vincent Poirier: 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 0 turnovers

Tonight was Poirier’s first appearance since January 7, when he was away for a long time due to COVID. It’s good to see the big man healthy and back on the court.