3 observations: Joel Embiid, Sixers beat Rockets for 6th straight win

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the process of trying to lock down the No. 1 seed as they head into these final games of the regular season and they took another step in doing so on Wednesday night. They took on the shorthanded Houston Rockets and made quick work of them winning it 135-115 for their sixth straight win.

Philadelphia scored 75 points in the first half as the offense was humming all night which then allowed them to win it pretty easily. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 34 points and 12 rebounds in the win as he made quick work of whoever the Rockets threw at him in the paint.

Tobias Harris added 15 points, Shake Milton had a big game off the bench with 19 points, Seth Curry had 11 points, Ben Simmons had 10, Tyrese Maxey had 12 and seven assists, and Danny Green added nine and eight rebounds. Dwight Howard also added 10 points and eight rebounds and Matisse Thybulle had five points, four blocks, and three steals.

Here are the observations following another win:

Simmons attacking on offense

Granted, this was against the lowly Rockets, but Simmons was aggressive from the jump in this one. He scored 10 points in the first quarter as he relentlessly attacked the basket and he was finishing well around the basket. Poor Kevin Porter Jr. could not stay in front of him and Simmons took full advantage of Houston not having much of a rim protector as he went to the basket with authority. He also knocked down a fadeaway jumper in the post which is something new for him. This has been said plenty of times before, but when Simmons is attacking and looking for his points, the 6-foot-10 All-Star is tough to stop. The guy is a freight train going to the basket and there are not any who can stay in front of him. It would be nice to see him use his scoring ability more. His start allowed him to be a threat on Houston's radar and there were opportunities for the shooters to step up.

Improvements from Maxey

There have been some subtle improvements in the rookie Maxey’s game and that is his willingness to shoot it more from the outside. When the Rockets went into a zone in the second quarter, Maxey confidently was stepping into 3-pointers and he knocked down two of them. That is something that is going to be worth watching the rest of the season and into the playoffs. Maxey is already beginning to really nail down his offensive game when he gets to the basket as he is able to finish with either hand and he has a solid floater game. If he can continue to add to his outside jumper, then he will have a solid offensive package that he can turn to with his offense when he needs to give the team a spark or when the rest of the league gets a scouting report on him. One can see the adjustments and the improvements he continues to make.

Embiid working in the paint

The big fella admitted after the win on Monday that he is just going through the motions over this final stretch of the season and it looked like he was doing the same thing in this one as he was not completely engaged, but he still went to work. The Rockets were using Kelly Olynyk as the primary defender against Embiid and he did not offer much resistance. The MVP candidate was able to do his work in the painted area as well as get to the foul line early and often. He looks to be moving well which is something that is important for them. He was able to work well in the post and he was able to get some easy buckets by being crafty. He is the one who is going to drive this team’s playoff hopes so as long as he is ready to roll for when the games matter later in May, the Sixers will be in good shape. He is working his way into that shape as the season continues to wind down.

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