3 observations: Joel Embiid, Sixers clinch No. 1 seed with win over Magic
The road to the NBA Finals in the East will have to go through South Philadelphia. After failing to clinch the No. 1 seed against either the Indiana Pacers or the Miami Heat, the 76ers finally got it done on Friday as they knocked off the Orlando Magic 122-97 to finally put a wrap on that race for the top spot.
Joel Embiid was able to get back into a bit of a groove after a rough night in South Beach and he had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win. It was not a dominant effort like one is used to seeing, but he was able to set a bit of a tone on the defensive end and he got to the line six times.
Seth Curry scored 20 points to lead the Sixers, Ben Simmons had 13 points and nine assists, Tobias Harris had nine and seven rebounds, Furkan Korkmaz had 10 and six rebounds, and Mike Scott had eight. Shake Milton also produced 15 points while Tyrese Maxey had eight points, five rebounds, and six assists and Isaiah Joe had 11 as the bench provided a lift.
Here are the three observations from the Friday night win:
Better defense
The Magic aren’t a playoff team like the Heat are, but the defensive urgency the Sixers started the game with compared to the effort in Miami on Thursday was noticeable. Simmons and Embiid were everywhere and they held the Magic scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. Orlando did get hot from deep as Philadelphia went underneath a lot of screens, but other than that, this is the defense one expects from the Sixers. Orlando is a team that offers the Sixers an opportunity to get right before the playoffs begin. Their defensive effort in the road losses to the Pacers and the Heat were not up to par with their season numbers and these last two games of the regular season should help them get back on track for the postseason.
Lift from the bench
While the starting unit set the tone on the defensive end with their effort, they could not get into much of a rhythm offensively. That is where the bench unit stepped in and they gave the team a boost on offense. Korkmaz looked like he was moving better on that end of the floor after not looking so great against the Heat as he was active off the ball getting to his spots out on the perimeter. He also had a nice cut off the ball which resulted in a rim-rattling dunk. The energy brought by Maxey was infectious as he was all over the floor on the offensive end. Orlando is a smaller group so that offers the rookie more time to be able to show off his skills and he got to the hoop a few times with that burst of speed. Milton was also able to get some buckets in the flow of the offense which is always a good sign for him.
Ball movement and pace
This is always going to decide how the Sixers will fare on offense. When the ball is whipping around the perimeter and they are playing with pace, they get into a groove on offense and they are tough to stop. Thanks to the bench unit starting things on their end, and then the starting unit finally finding a rhythm in their second stint, they were able to have success on that end. They had 18 assists on 22 field goals at the half which allowed them to take a 66-43 lead and then cruise from there. Their stout defensive play also allowed them to get out in transition and play with pace like they plan to. Simmons was able to make plays in the Fastbreak offense and there was even a play where Embiid had a steal and a slam on the other end. There was also a play where Simmons threw a beautiful bounce pass to Maxey for a layup in transition. The ball movement and the pace are where the Sixers will have their most success on offense and it has to continue.
1
1
