“His winning formula is amazing”

As the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers played Friday night, Ben Simmons was nowhere to be seen. In three quarters, Simmons had eight assists, but only four points on just three shots, and appeared well on his way to a fifth straight game with one-digit hitting attempts, continuing what it was a quiet start this season.

But then, as Boston reduced Philadelphia’s lead to four in the middle of the fourth quarter and threatened to steal the second half of this two-game series between these rivals, Simmons burst onto the scene.

He fought on the offensive window to score his own longing. He rushed to the tape after a bucket and-1. He took a pass in the open, took one in the other direction to take a bath – and was immediately followed by a timeout by Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

Within 36 seconds, the game went from being thrown to one that would clearly end in a Sixers victory. That stretch, the key segment in Philadelphia’s 122-110 victory, was a reminder of the impact Simmons can have – and that those kinds of moments didn’t come so often to start this season.

“It was good,” Simmons said after finishing with 15 points – 11 in the fourth quarter – and 11 assists, when asked how he felt about this season and whether he heard criticism of his start. “It’s a new season. I’m just focusing on winning and doing everything I can to win with this team. I think it was good.

“I don’t go on Instagram, I don’t go on Twitter, so I can’t really answer questions about what people are saying, because I don’t give a shit, honestly. But if not [head coach] dock [Rivers] say something or [assistant coach] Sat. [Cassell], or people come to me, it’s a different story.

“But I’m trying to win games and that’s why we’re all here, to win.”

It was a strange start to the season for the Sixers. They have the best Eastern Conference record, at 11-5, but they celebrated in a light program before the last two weeks, they were consumed by the Sixers, missing more players due to NBA health and safety protocols , followed by playing four games against the Miami Heat and Celtics who were exhausted for the same reason.

Joel Embiid was undoubtedly the NBA MVP in the first month of the season and watched his 42-point performance on Wednesday with a 38-point explosion on Friday night, one punctuated by taking another shot at Marcics Smart from Celtics because he was frustrated by his wrong shot in Wednesday night’s game.

“I knew I was coming into play after they complained, I knew the officers would be a little tight for us and I think it’s better for them,” Embiid said after receiving 15 free throws on Friday night, compared to 21 in the victory. from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Tobias Harris has once again shown himself to be the player he played for Rivers with the LA Clippers – the one the Sixers paid a high price to trade two years ago, then paid $ 180 million over five years. years to keep him as a free agent. Harris shot 10-for-12 and scored 23 points on Friday, after scoring 22 points on Wednesday. And the moves the Sixers made to better balance the roster, replacing Al Horford and Josh Richardson with Danny Green and Seth Curry, respectively, worked as well as they could have hoped.

But for this team to be the championship contender it aspires to be, the Sixers need the version of Simmons that took that 36-second lead in the fourth quarter – a version that Sixers fans have been waiting for. it occurs more often than it does.

Much has been made of Simmons’ photography – or lack thereof – from a 3-point distance. But what stood out in the plays he did in the fourth quarter was his aggression. In nine of his 14 games this season, Simmons has not made 10 hits, and his points per game, hits per game, percentage of field goals and utilization rate have dropped this season.

However, he said he is quite happy with his role.

“Yes, [I am]”, he said.” It is unique and different. There aren’t too many guys who can do what I do. I reach the rim, score, give back and facilitate, then I stop defensively. There aren’t too many players in the NBA who do that. It’s rare.

“So I will continue to develop my game and improve for my team. But in the end, I just want to win. And yet I have to do that, whether I get 10 steals and no points, no rebounds and 50 assist, whatever it is, I’ll do it. “

No one would argue that Simmons’ skill set is a rare one. He is quoted at 6 feet-11 and 240 pounds, yet he is often the fastest player and best passer on the field – not to mention the fact that he is able to guard virtually anyone, as he did- a Friday in the transition between the little one and the changer Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown, one of the most athletic wing players in the league.

But precisely because he has so many skills at his disposal, he makes so much attention to his game when he doesn’t have the kind of impact he made in the fourth quarter on Friday night. Simmons’ quiet nights offensively this season have been noticed by opposing scouts and have happened enough that it has been a regular topic of discussion that Rivers has had to address on several occasions this season – especially as Simmons’ potential to be the focal point of a James Harden transaction hung over the franchise.

“He didn’t make it to the end of the game tonight, but he was already playing great,” Rivers said. “And that’s the point I’m trying to tell everyone. He’s doing so much for this team. His winning formula is amazing in everything. Last night, he didn’t get any credit.

“He was so important for the reason that I won that game with all the things he does, the little cuts, the little hind legs, the runs and the passes. Ben does a lot and therefore can’t focus on a single one. “He’s just too good to score, he’s too good for that for me. It would be a waste if that’s all we focused on.”

However, for the Sixers to get out of the Eastern Conference, they will need it. The Celtics were short in both games this week, but were competitive with Jayson Tatum standing due to health and safety protocols and Kemba Walker still playing within minutes. The Milwaukee Bucks still have Giannis Antetokounmpo, twice the league’s MVP, along with All-Stars Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. The Miami Heat have almost the entire team back in the group that won the East last year.

Oh, and then there’s that Brooklyn Interstate 95 team that happened to trade for Harden last week and already had Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

However, there is plenty of gel time for these Sixers and there are reasons for optimism. Embiid and Simmons both spoke on Friday about their growing relationship on the ground. The fact that Harden was changed and the potential for him to come to Philadelphia disappeared, eliminating another fun. And now that they finally have the full set of players, after recovering Curry on Friday night, Embiid spoke after the game about the desire for the Sixers to go on a series of victories.

The chances of this happening, however, will only increase if Simmons can set up a series of stretches of games such as the 36-second interval that cemented Friday’s game result.

“I like playing with him,” Embiid said. “The fourth quarter starts at the defensive end and he was a monster. He received a lot of thefts, and then, in the middle of the field, he attacked, he was aggressive and he played games, he scored a couple of baskets.

“It was huge tonight. It was huge tonight.”