Have the Philadelphia 76ers found their footing without Ben Simmons?
Two months and 30 games into the 2021-22 regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves at 15-15 and out of the top 8 in the Eastern Conference standings. There was little hope of Ben Simmons playing for the team again (as he stood firm on his trade demand) and Joel Embiid had already missed 11 games.
Despite finishing as the No. 1 seed in the East last season, this year was shaping up into somewhat of a lost season for the Sixers. Between the Simmons drama and the team simply not performing at a contending level, there was much doubt about the direction of this team.
However, a month and a half later, the Sixers have completely changed the narrative around this team.
Over the past 21 games, the Sixers have the league’s second-best record at 16-5. During that span, they have the league’s sixth-best offense, fourth-best defense, and second-best net rating. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve erased that mediocre start to the season during their first 30 games and now find themselves in a battle for the No. 1 seed in the East once again.
As the hottest team in the East, the Sixers, at 31-20, are third in the standings and just 1.5 games back of the top-seeded Chicago Bulls.
With how the Sixers have played recently, you can’t help but wonder if this team has hit its stride without Simmons. Or, in other words, have the Sixers figured out life without Simmons?
And it’s a fair question to ask. It was always going to take some time to figure out and with Embiid playing at such an absurd level, perhaps that only made it that much easier.
Speaking of Embiid, he’s arguably playing the best basketball of his career. So far this season, he’s averaging 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent shooting from 3-point range.
During their 16-5 streak, Embiid has been even more deadly. Over the past 21 games, Embiid is averaging 34 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists on 53 percent shooting from the field. He has effectively put the entire team on his back and as the team has gotten a little healthier, they’re rounding into shape.
Before the season, many believed that the Sixers would be among the conversation of contenders in the Eastern Conference. However, much of that belief was under the pretext that Simmons was going to be on the roster and playing a big role for the team.
Even though that simply isn’t the case anymore as it regards to Simmons, there’s no question that the Sixers have very much entered the contender conversation in the East without him.
Embiid may very well win the NBA MVP award and it’ll be interesting to see how far he can carry this upstart Sixers team. Perhaps the Sixers have figured out life without Simmons. And it involved a heavy dose of Embiid.