Nick Splitter

8 takeaways from 76ers/Knicks: 1. Simons is overqualified for his role. He has a lot more on-ball juice than people think, but his lights-out movement shooting and spacing ability is going to be even more important than I originally thought. It doesn’t seem like the Sixers will be a high-volume, high-efficiency three-point shooting team. Therefore, all of his shots will simply mean more. They don’t win the last two games without him being an absolute flamethrower. 2. LeBron still has a legit gear. We’ve seen it forever, but tonight was a great example of him bringing a different energy and focus. He approached tonight as a playoff game, and that made a huge difference especially without JB. At this stage, LeBron can’t ratchet it up nightly, but you will see him treat marquee games that have the upside of making a statement, with a specific level of aggressiveness as he begins to ramp himself up throughout the marathon of 82. 3. Maxey is even better than people think. I can’t think of another guy in the NBA that has ever been as quick as him but ALSO be as great a shooter as him. He truly has a unique skillset that is close to impossible to game-plan for. He’s the type of guy that when he gets it going early, it makes everything easier for others. Tonight was one of those nights, which was an inverse of the Pacers game. He was strong to start and the others finished, while the other night he closed the deal after struggling. 4. Embiid as a hub has been intriguing. Joel doesn’t get enough credit as a passer. The Sixers have trusted him to make decisions in the short-roll more than I have thought, and he’s made defenses pay at a nice rate. Him and LeBron will share that role throughout the season, but I’ve been pleased with his diagnosing of the defense, and his ability to create for others. He had 7 AST tonight. 5. Embiid and VJ’s 3P shooting will be something to monitor. If you exclude VJ’s 5/10 game against Milwaukee, they are a combined 6/38 from deep. That’s just 16%. Embiid as a spacer and popper was and still is expected to be a huge part of this offense. VJ is going to continue getting wide open C&S looks. The best version of this Sixers offense will likely exist only if those guys can pretty consistently make defenses pay for over-helping on the paint-pressure that Maxey, Brown, and LeBron create. It’s not like a panic button, but something that has stood out. 6. I don’t think Bona can hold down the fort. Adem is still just too unpolished to even do the simple things. At times, he makes the easy stuff look very hard. Screen-setting, defending without fouling, and offensive and defensive positioning are all really lackluster. He sticks out like a sore thumb against good competition. I understand he’s just a stop-gap, and I appreciate how hard he plays, but I’m counting down the days until we get to see Barlow, Walker, Fall, and most importantly, perhaps, a legit back-up center in the open market or via trade. 7. Dean Wade is as advertised. He’s one of the few guys in the league who can actually guard 1-5. He had a stretch tonight where he had, what I believe to be, three consecutive steals. His defensive activity and hand timing really mucks things up for opposing offenses. He’s a great connector offensively, but the next steps for him will be to be slightly more of an aggressive spot-up shooter. I feel like he passes on some great looks. All in all, I’m really nit-picking here and I’m so pleased with his role. He had 0 PTS tonight, but the Sixers don’t win without his 27 MIN. Classic ‘impact doesn’t show up in the box score’ guy. 8. The team defense continues to be remarkable. It was on full display on the sequences where the Knicks really had the ball moving on a string, and the Sixers were in constant rotation and in help and recover. Those consistent sequences of extra efforts just shows how much this team is prioritizing and taking pride in what it means to be successful on that side of the ball.