Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Simmons questions team’s communication on defense
PHILADELPHIA >> After the Brooklyn Nets made half of their threepoint attempts, shot 43 free throws and enjoyed 70 points from their bench Wednesday, Ben Simmons was quick with an explanation.
“I think it’s just communication on our end,” Simmons said after a 127-124 Sixers loss. “I think we just need to communicate more with that team. It’s the same thing every time we play them.”
The Sixers have played the Nets three times this season, losing twice and winning by two points. In those games, Brooklyn has scored 122, 125 and 127 points.
Brett Brown does not believe it is a coincidence.
“If you really study our matchups with Brooklyn, we have a hard time defending them,” Brown said. “Any team that has multiple live-ball guys that can be put in a pick-androll, that can be put in an isolation, that’s a hard team for us to guard. And they shoot the fifth most threes in the NBA. They run the second most pick-and-rolls in the NBA.”
Before the game, Brown warned of the dangers of the “kick-out three.” As it happened, Brooklyn drained 14 of 28 shots from distance. Spencer Dinwiddie, typically a handful for the Sixers, shot 4-for-6 from distance on his way to 39 points.
Simmons was convinced that the defensive-end communication was the crisis point.
“It was an issue at the beginning of the season but I think we got a lot better at it with different teams,” he said. “It might be that Brooklyn has multiple guys that can knock down shots and it’s tough to guard. But tonight I think we did a poor job at that.”
••• Compounding the Sixers’ usual matchup problems against the Nets was the absence of Jimmy Butler, Mike Muscala and Jonah Bolden.
Butler continues to recover from a groin injury. Muscala was a late scratch due to an upper respiratory infection. And Bolden, who would have filled in for Muscala, was on a road trip with Delaware of the GLeague and could not immediately return to Philadelphia.
“It’s hard,” Simmons said. “I mean, you get used to a guy being there, then two guys are out that you are used to having in there, which means other guys have to step up and fill that role, come in and play defense, rebound. It could be the little things. But I think everybody needs to be accountable. Myself and everybody.”
Brown continues to list Butler as “day to day.”
“I don’t know how soon he is going to play,” he said. “I don’t know what that means in longevity, or when he is going to return.”
The shorthanded Sixers scored only 31 bench points.
“It was tough,” said Joel Embiid, who collected 33 points and 17 rebounds. “They both bring something different to the team. Mike is really good with spacing and shooting. And defensively, he’s been great on the low block and just protecting the rim. And Jimmy, we all know what he can do off the dribble. When we need a bucket, he’s right there and he plays hard. So we missed both of them tonight. Then hopefully on Friday, we’re going to get them back.”
The Sixers will entertain the Indiana Pacers Friday at 7:30.
••• With Muscala unavailable, Brown was forced to give additional frontcourt shifts to Simmons, who responded with 22 points, many from a power forward position.
“It wasn’t told to me to do that,” Simmons said. “It was just that I need to.”
With Simmons shifting out of the backcourt, T.J. McConnell provided 17 points.
••• With Butler unavailable, the Sixers started Furkan Korkmaz … but not before considering Landry Shamet.
“We did,” Brown said. “I like to almost reverse-engineer it, and think, ‘If it plays out like this, how do you want to end the game?’ And so I would expect Landry to be on the floor ending the game.”
Shamet scored 10 points, including three three-pointers in the final minute.
“I see Landry as I saw Marco Belinelli,” Brown said. “I can find a way to probably end the game with him.”
For the second consecutive game, Korkmaz scored a careerhigh 18 points.
“I was really excited because this was my first time to start in a game,” he said. “I felt different, but I knew that I needed to do the same job on the court.”