3 observations: Joel Embiid, Sixers make quick work of Pistons at home

The Philadelphia 76ers were shorthanded entering a Saturday night matchup with the Detroit Pistons as they were down Ben Simmons and Seth Curry, but they were still able to make quick work of the Pistons in order to win their eighth straight game 118-102.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 29 points and six rebounds as he made it look easy all night. He finished shooting 11-for-13 and he was able to get into his rhythm early. It did help that the Pistons really did not have a suitable matchup for the MVP candidate, but either way, this was another solid game to get him ready for the postseason.

Tyrese Maxey had 22 points and five rebounds starting in place of Simmons, Tobias Harris had 18 points and six rebounds, Dwight Howard had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Matisse Thybulle had five steals in this one as a starter.

Here are the observations following another win:

Tobias and Joel setting the tone

Harris is always a guy who gets his offense within the flow of the team, but it seems lately he has been getting off to rough starts and he wouldn’t get it going until late. In this one, the Sixers seemed to feature him in the offense early and he was able to get into a rhythm early as he had 11 points in the first quarter. He was aggressive in the early going and he was able to score over the smaller defenders the Pistons threw at him in this one. Then, of course, there is the play of Embiid. He made quick work of whoever Detroit threw at him whether it was Mason Plumlee or Jerami Grant or whoever, the big fella was efficient. As mentioned before, Philadelphia is in a good spot where Embiid just needs to be sure he is ready for the postseason. He looks like he is ready for those battles as the playoffs get closer.

Maxey pushing the pace

He isn’t Simmons, but the way Maxey played in a start in this one was solid. He was pushing the pace on the offensive end and he was able to get the team into their sets quickly. What Philadelphia misses without their star guard is his ability to get the team running and the shots he creates for the team’s shooters. Maxey was not out here creating shots like Simmons does, but the pace he played with was important. On the defensive end, Maxey was very active and he chased Detroit’s guards all over the place. He was harassing a lot of them and his activity, combined with the elite defensive play of Matisse Thybulle, allowed Philadelphia to come up with a slew of turnovers. They scored 12 points off 11 Pistons turnovers in the first half and Maxey was a big reason for that.

Howard attacking

In the previous matchup between these teams in January, Pistons rookie Isaiah Stewart got under the skin of Howard a bit as he ripped his shorts. In this one, Howard got a bit of revenge as the future Hall of Famer bullied the rookie early and often and he did a good job of attacking the glass and the basket. There was one sequence where Stewart missed an open jumper and then Howard ran a pick-and-pop and he knocked down a jumper. These are the types of Howard games the Sixers need every night. He is obviously not the young guy he used to be, but he is still capable of these types of nights and he has been pretty productive all season long. The challenge for him is finding consistency and also keeping his mouth shut when it comes to the officials. He also did make history on Saturday as he passed Walt Bellamy for 11^th place on the all-time rebounding list. https://twitter.com/Ky_Carlin/status/1391177091643752451

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