Philadelphia 76ers: Simmons, Embiid lead Sixers to first win of season

Led by the dynamic duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers broke through for their first win of the 2017-18 season.

It was a night of firsts for the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons.

The Sixers recorded their first win of the 2017-18 season, while Simmons recorded his first career triple-double in just the fourth game of his career.

Coming into the game with 0-3 record, the Sixers’ 97-86 win over the Detroit Pistons was extremely important and timely. The catalyst for the win was the performance of Simmons, who notched 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Breaking out of the blocks with 10 points in the first term, Simmons had his stamp on the game throughout, with his combination of size and speed too much to handle for his opponents. Also featuring prominently was center Joel Embiid, who posted 30 points, nine rebounds and two steals in just 28 minutes of play. Embiid’s efficiency was incredibly impressive, hitting 11-of-15 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

The Sixers roared out of the gates early, leading 31-21 at the end of the first period, and were never behind for the entire game. In addition to the sublime play of Simmons and Embiid, swingman Robert Covington was a factor at both ends of the floor in posting 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals while hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Following this performance, head coach Brett Brown stated that the defensive end was a point of emphasis in the lead up to the game:

"“Everything we tried to do was through a defensive lens. I thought we played good defense, we’re trying to grow a base of that, I think that set the tone for the second half.”"

In particular, he singled out Embiid for his efforts at the defensive end:

"“He was so committed defensively…he’s really embraced the notion that he can be the anchor and voice of our defense. He lives it, he talks it, and I think that in growing that Joel, with that sort of mentality, and focal point of growing to be a leader in that regard – he was excellent at that tonight.”"

https://twitter.com/sixers/status/922605108654899205

Embiid’s absence was certainly missed during their loss to the Toronto Raptors, when the Sixers gave up 128 points and were highly unimpressive at the defensive end. Now through his first three games played, Embiid has posted a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 91.5, including an incredible rating of 79.9 this game.

In fact, the Sixers are 19.2 points per 100 possessions better off defensively when Embiid has been on the floor.

But as incredible as Embiid was for the game, the star of the night was Simmons, who also posted his fourth double-double in as many games. Naturally following the game, coach Brown couldn’t hold back his admiration of his rookie quarterback:

"“We all see how gifted he is physically, the decision to make him our point guard is a challenge, and still is. As an organization, we stay strong and that’s where we want to play him. And him with the ball, and able to do the things that he does, produces a lot of these mismatches and numbers. We’re able top post him, he’s able to see over pick-and-rolls, you see how gifted he is in early offense and in the open court, he’s got that breakaway speed that’s jaw dropping – and he’s 6’10″.”"

Making Simmons’ accomplishment even more impressive is the fact the he has now joined Oscar Robertson and Hambone Williams as the only players to have recorded a triple-double in the first four games of their career.

Next: 2017-18 Week 2 NBA Power Rankings

Following this much-needed win, the Sixers will quickly need to turn their attention to their next opponent, when they play host to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.