Does Everyone Still Think That Embiid or Simmons Need to be Traded?
God last night felt so good. It was such sweet vindication for everyone who has been calling out the national media (and Trysta) for saying that Simmons and Embiid can't work together. Brett Brown FINALLY figured out that the real question isn't whether or not Ben and Joel can play together, but rather can Ben and Joel play with Horford. So Brett staggered Embiid and Horford's minutes for most of the game and the most surprising thing happened. Playing with one center instead of two created a ton of spacing. Who would have thought? Simmons was able to create for himself going 12 for 22 en route to a triple double.
Tobias continued to look like a different player at the 4 going 8 of 19 from the field with a +18.
Jrich dominated the fourth quarter.
Embiid was able to limit his minutes and stay fresh and efficient throughout the game going 8 of 17 for 26 points in only 28 minutes.
Even Horford looked good coming off the bench, only shooting 3 of 4 for 10 points, but posting a +10 in 28 minutes.
So the answer should be no, nobody should think that Embiid or Simmons needs to be traded.
I truly think Horford coming off the bench will solve so many of this teams problems. The lack of spacing always came from Horford and Embiid, not Simmons and Embiid. Allowing Tobias to play the four gives a legitimate deep threat at three of the five positions. I know Furk put up a dud last night, but after going for back to back 30 point games he proved that he still demands attention. So when defenses need to pay attention to 3 perimeter shooters instead of 2 that obviously allows for Ben to create more inside and for Tobias to become more two dimensional instead of strictly being a catch and shoot guy.
Also, with Horford on the bench and the addition of Burks and GRIII it makes our secondary lineups incredibly more dangerous. The Sixers essentially went 9 deep yesterday with Horford, Mattisse, GRIII, and Burks coming off the bench. This means that basically every lineup last night had some sort of combination of perimeter scoring at all times. Look at this Tobias play.
This is a secondary lineup of Burks, Jrich, Kork, Tobi, and Horford. This is exactly what I'm talking about, with Tobias as the playmaker on the court, and having three perimeter shooters around him, it allows Tobi to create more than just jump shots. Burks can shoot and Furk can shoot. As Tobias drives into the lane, Lou Will and Shamet want to cut him off but can't because it would leave Korkmaz or Burks open for an uncontested three. This is the exact spacing that we have been lacking. By having respectable shooters around, and by consistently putting out lineups with one center instead of two, this team just got a lot scarier. Now let's win some road games.