So just how much did the 76ers miss Ben Simmons?
“Oh, we missed him a ton,” coach Doc Rivers said before Monday night’s 121-90 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center.
He even joked with another NBA coach about the four games Simmons was sidelined for what Rivers called the flu. The Sixers lost all of those games.
“He called me and said, ‘If anyone ever asked you again about how important Ben is on offense, just show them the last four games,’” Rivers said. “And to me, we talk about his defense, especially probably against Milwaukee, it’s probably more pronounced.
“But where we missed him the most was offensively.”
A lot of the three-pointers the Sixers get and make are a result of Simmons’ finding teammates. Nor did the Sixers play at the pace they’re accustomed to when the three-time All-Star sat out.
The improved pace and three-pointers were noticeable early in Monday’s game. The 24-year-old also moved better than before he sat out that stretch.
In the end, Simmons finished with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go with three rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 22 minutes, 37 seconds. None of the Sixers starters played in the fourth quarter.
Joel Embiid finished with 21 points, five rebounds, three steals and two turnovers. Tobias Harris added 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and two turnovers.
The Sixers (40-21) made 14 of 31 three-pointers (45.2%).
It would have been disappointment if the Sixers didn’t dominate the tanking Thunder (20-41). The barometer will come in their home contests gainst the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and Friday.
To say the Sixers expected stiff competition from the Thunder would have been fallacious.
This was the Oklahoma City’s 14th consecutive loss. The Thunder lost their previous 13 games by an average of 20.6 points. And just like they’ve been for a lot of this season, the Thunder were undermanned.
Former Sixer Al Horford hasn’t played since March 24 after being shut down for the rest of the season despite being healthy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right foot plantar fasciitis), former Sixer Mike Muscala (right ankle sprain), Josh Hall (bilateral knee soreness), Lu Dort (right hip sprain) and Gabriel Deck (not with team) were also all out on Monday.
The Eastern Conference’s second-place Sixers gave Danny Green (left hip recovery) and reserve Mike Scott (left hip soreness) the night off. But this game was all about working on things while pulling within a game behind the first-place Brooklyn Nets with 11 contests remaining.
This contest gave George Hill another opportunity to mesh with teammates. He finished with two points, three assists, two steals and two turnovers while playing 14:01.
However, Hill and Simmons were only on the court together for 53 seconds, all in the first half.
Anthony Tolliver, who’s on his second 10-day contract, finished with six points.
Embiid (right shoulder soreness), Harris (right knee recovery), and Furkan Korkmaz (sprained right ankle) were all cleared to play after being listed as questionable. Korkmaz had missed the Sixers’ last two games.
Ty Jerome had 22 points for OKC.
