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Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Scott, Nets, Lowry

December 8th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons made his second career 3-pointer last night, but Sixers coach Brett Brown is looking forward to the day that Simmons’ long-distance shooting isn’t a story anymore, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Brown challenged Simmons to make the 3-pointer a regular part of his arsenal, telling reporters he would like him to shoot at least one every game.

“This is what I want,” Brown said, ”and you can pass it along to his agent, his family and friends. I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum. The pull-up 2s … I’m fine with whatever is open. But I’m interested in the 3-point shot. The mentality that he has where he’s turning corners and taking that long step, that gather step, and bringing his shoulders to the rim and trying to dunk or finish tight, will equal higher efficiency, or getting fouled. That’s the world that interests me the most. Those two things.”

Shortly after signing a five-year extension this summer, Simmons talked about becoming more of an outside shooting threat. That hasn’t materialized so far, as he has taken just four in 21 games.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Mike Scott took advantage of his first start of the season Saturday, delivering 21 points in a win over Cleveland, relays Mike Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Scott broke out of a shooting slump with nine first-quarter points as the Sixers built a big lead. “Just to try to find something to jump-start him,” Brown said in explaining the lineup change. “He has been down. We need him to be up.”
When the Nets signed DeAndre Jordan this summer, they weren’t sure how he was going to fit with Jarrett Allen, but the centers have made the pairing work, observes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Jordan and Allen are the only teammates in the league who rank in the top 10 in effective field goal percentage and rebound percentage. “During the summer, there could’ve been a lot of negative thinking in my head,” Allen said. “… But I took it as a positive. They brought him in, and he’s a great person to learn from — first-team All-Defense — he had a great background and I just tried to learn from him as much as I could.”
Kyle Lowry was surprised to learn that he’s the longest-serving active professional athlete in Toronto, notes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “I thought I was going to be here for a year, two years, and be long gone,” said Lowry, who has played 507 regular season games for the Raptors. “Come up here for business and that’s about it but, at the end of the day, I think the perseverance and the work I’ve put in and the belief the organization has in me means something.”

Sixers Notes: Thybulle, Simmons, Embiid

December 3rd, 2019 at 12:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rookie Matisse Thybulle has special skills for a defender but his discipline is what is going to allow him to play more minutes for the Sixers, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes.

“I should have a higher tolerance level to endure his wild decisions defensively,” head coach Brett Brown said after the team’s contest against the Jazz. “Because they are punishing. This league is so unforgiving when you just forget, ‘Oh, I left Joe Ingles, I forgot he could shoot, and I’m just going to make any play I want — And oh, my bad.’ [Thybulle] is getting better at that and I have to allow him to get better at that.”

If Thybulle had joined the Sixers three or four years ago, he’d have plenty of court time to experiment and grow. However, this is not “The Process” version of the Sixers any longer. The stakes are much higher as the team looks to make its first NBA Finals appearance since 2001.

“I’m always reminding myself, if we woke up tomorrow and it’s April 15th, would I feel comfortable that I’ve grown him the way that I should? And I need to do more, and better, sort of within the confines of what I’ve just said,” Brown said.

Here’s more from Philadelphia:

Thybulle, whom the team traded up in the 2019 draft to nab, isn’t taking his playing time for granted. The rookie is using his court time to learn from his mistakes and gain the reps needed to be a contributor on a playoff team. “Just being out there and seeing it live, I think, is huge,” Thybulle said (via Bodner in the same piece). “Most of these games, it’s my first time [playing against a team]. We played against [Utah] twice now, so I had a better feel for the guys. And just with each game, I get a better feel for the pace and what I can get away with, with the refs or with help-side and those types of gambles.”
With Ben Simmons and Thybulle on the squad, the Sixers have options when defending opposing perimeter threats, Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia explains. The duo shared defensive duties guarding Utah’s Donovan Mitchell on Monday and held him to just 6-for-19 from the field.
Some around the league aren’t thrilled with Joel Embiid and his antics on the court. Pacers assistant coach Dan Burke wasn’t shy when given the platform to discuss the big man’s style (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). “I hate that team…I think Embiid gets away with a bunch of crap the league ignores,” Burke said of Indiana’s recent matchup with the Sixers.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Simmons, Kyrie, Knox

November 23rd, 2019 at 3:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Al Horford left for bigger free agent riches in Philadelphia this summer, the Celtics signed scoring-oriented Enes Kanter as a cheap replacement, hoping that Daniel Theis, Kanter, Robert Williams and rookie Grant Williams could compensate for Horford’s absence piecemeal.

So far, that has proven to be the case during Boston’s 11-4 start. A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston preaches caution against disrupting team chemistry by trying to trade for a major center upgrade like Clint Capela or Karl-Anthony Towns.

Instead, Blakely notes that 7’5” rookie Tacko Fall, on a two-way contract, has impressed in the G League thus far. Blakely suggests that Fall might be an option who could shore up the Celtics’ interior defense in spot minutes. Boston should also monitor the buyout market and top Chinese Basketball Association centers, Blakely opines.

There’s more from around the Atlantic:

After making his first NBA triple in a 109-104 win over the Knicks, Sixers All-Star point guard Ben Simmons mentioned his desire to play for the Australian national team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Tim Bontemps of ESPN reports. Sixers coach Brett Brown was recently announced as the Australian national team’s coach for the event.“We have a great relationship,” Simmons said of Brown in his postgame comments. “I’ve known him my whole life. I’m excited to put together a great team.”
Prized offseason Nets acquisition Kyrie Irving has missed the past four games with a shoulder impingement. Though coach Kenny Atkinson insists that the ailment will not be a long-term issue, he concedes that Irving is not healthy enough to play, as the New York Post’s Brian Lewis relays. “We have a protocol before a guy comes back to play. Usually we’re not just going to throw you out there without seeing you. We have these kind of set standards in the past,” Atkinson notes. “We’re not at that point yet. Hopefully, he will get there soon.”
Knicks coach David Fizdale has challenged second-year forward Kevin Knox to improve his defense, according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “I am definitely riding Kevin, to challenge him to go to another level, especially defensively,” Fizdale confirmed, before praising his improved offense. “His shooting percentage is up, finishing around the rim is much better, he’s seeing the floor better. But I want him to take a big jump forward defensively… He’s got the physical tools to do it.” Braziller points out that Fizdale has been quicker with the hook for Knox lately. The 6’7″ forward from Kentucky has averaged 14.7 minutes across the team’s last four contests, a far cry from the more generous 23.6 minutes he was allotted over New York’s first 11 games.

Brett Brown Finalizing Deal To Coach Australian National Team

November 19th, 2019 at 11:11am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers head coach Brett Brown is in the process of finalizing a deal that would once again make him the head coach of Australia’s national team, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Brown, who has been the Sixers’ coach since the 2013/14 season, previously served as an assistant for the Australian national team from 1995-2003, then took over as the program’s head coach in 2009. He remained in that role through 2012, leading Australia to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the ’12 Olympics in London — the team was eliminated by the United States.

Before he became an assistant for the Spurs in 2002, Brown coached multiple teams in Australia and New Zealand, spending time in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

Since taking over as the 76ers’ head coach, Brown has amassed a 186-319 (.368) record, though most of those losses were accumulated during the “Process” years as the franchise went through a long rebuild. Since the start of the 2017/18 season, Brown has a 111-66 (.627) regular season record, plus a 12-10 mark in the playoffs.

Brown will be assuming control of an Australian club that has already claimed its spot in the 2020 Olympics as a result of its 2019 World Cup success. Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, and former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut are among the notable players expected to represent Australia in Tokyo next summer.

It will be interesting to see whether Brown’s hiring will influence Ben Simmons‘ Olympic decision. Simmons, who plays for Brown in Philadelphia, opted against joining Australia for the World Cup but could still suit up for the squad in Tokyo.

Sixers’ Simmons To Miss Time Due To Shoulder Sprain

November 7th, 2019 at 5:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

NOVEMBER 7, 5:46pm: Simmons will likely miss at least the Sixers’ next three games due to his shoulder sprain, league sources tell Haynes (Twitter link). Derek Bodner of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that Simmons will definitely miss Friday’s game vs. Denver and will be re-evaluated prior to Sunday’s game vs. Charlotte.

NOVEMBER 7, 10:13am: An X-ray on Simmons’ right should came back negative, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that the 23-year-old will be further evaluated later today.

NOVEMBER 6, 10:48pm: Sixers star Ben Simmons will be re-evaluated Thursday after leaving tonight’s game with what is being called a “minor” AC joint sprain in his right shoulder, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Simmons suffered the injury midway through the first quarter. He took a pass in the high post and collided with Royce O’Neale while spinning to his right.

Simmons tried to shake off the injury and had what appeared to be a heating pad on it after checking out of the game later in the quarter. He re-entered with 6:56 left in the second quarter, but took himself out about a minute and a half later and went straight to the locker room. Pompey states that he seemed to be having trouble moving the arm.

After missing his entire rookie season, Simmons has been very durable the past two years, playing in 81 and 79 games, as well as all seven of Philadelphia’s contests so far this season.

Sixers Expect To Pay Luxury Tax In 2020/21

November 1st, 2019 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers managing partner Josh Harris anticipates that the team will be a luxury tax payer for the 2020-21 season, as he told Rich Hofmann of The Athletic in a Q&A session that also included GM Elton Brand.

Harris said there “are definitely issues” that come with being a taxpayer, including some roster restrictions. But he has no qualms about that prospect.

“If that’s what it takes to win, we’re going to do it,” he said.

The luxury tax threshold is approximately $132.6MM and Philadelphia is currently a few million below that number. However, the Sixers already have nearly $144MM in contract guarantees for next season. That’s due in large part to Ben Simmons‘ max extension. He’ll jump from $8.11MM this season to $29MM in the first year of that extension. The combined salaries for Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid and Al Horford next season total up to more than $91MM.

Harris and Brand provided some other interesting insights in the Q&A:

Harris expects the team to get deeper in the playoffs and everyone is accountable: “I think we all feel some pressure. Elton does. I do. Brett and the players all want to deliver for the city,” he said.
Harris had hoped Jimmy Butler would re-sign but was impressed by the way the front office shifted gears to re-sign Harris, acquire Josh Richardson in a sign-and-trade with Miami, and bring in high-profile free agent Horford. “He obviously had a lot of choices and we’re happy for him that he’s with a great organization,” Harris said of Butler. “But for us, the job that Elton and his team did to pick up Al Horford and Josh Richardson on the heels of that and to get Josh Richardson back in a sign-and-trade obviously, I watched it from the inside and it was incredible.”
Brand presents Harris with various scenarios in free agency and trades to spell out how each move would impact the bottom line: Brand told Hofmann how he breaks it down to his boss. “Hey, these are our options. If this happens, I don’t know, but this player could be available, this player could be available, this player could be available. This looks like a 50-win season, this looks like a 55, our penetration could be this in the second round to the Eastern Conference Finals, to the finals. If we lose this player and can’t do a sign-and-trade, we’re going to be here.”

NBA Suspends Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns Two Games Each

October 31st, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The punishment for the scuffle between Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid has been handed down by the league. Each player will miss the next two games, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The two big men wrestled one another to the ground on Wednesday and were each ejected from the contest. The jabs didn’t stop there, as the star big men exchanged insults via social media later that night. Charania adds that the duo’s suspension was for their on-court altercation and “their continued escalation following the incident.”

Ben Simmons, who held Towns down on the ground as other players pulled Embiid away, will not be suspended for the incident, despite the Wolves pushing back against the notion that he acted as a peacemaker.

Embiid will lose roughly $379K as a result of the conflict while Towns will lose roughly $376K, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The 76ers will play Portland and Phoenix over their next two games while Minnesota faces Washington and Milwaukee.

Wolves Dispute Simmons As ‘Peacemaker’ In Brawl

October 31st, 2019 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

While Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were the instigators of Wednesday’s brawl between the Sixers and Timberwolves, they weren’t the only players who jumped in the fray. Ben Simmons was among the players who ended up on the ground with Towns during the fracas, with referees ruling that Simmons was acting as a “peacemaker.” According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves are pushing back on that ruling.

As Wojnarowski details, the Timberwolves are arguing that Simmons had Towns in a “dangerous choke hold” as he pinned him to the floor. Minnesota’s front office was in touch with NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe, sources tell Wojnarowski, and presumably the Wolves would like to see Simmons receive some sort of discipline as a result of the altercation.

According to Michael Lee of The Athletic (Twitter link), people on the Wolves’ side may have been even more upset with Simmons’ actions than Embiid’s, and questioned why he was allowed to stay in the game.

For their part, the Sixers were “adamant” in supporting the referees’ conclusion that Simmons was a peacemaker, per Woj. The 76ers have also been in contact with VanDeWeghe and the league office, telling the NBA that they believe Towns was the aggressor in the fight.

The NBA will review the tape and interview participants and witnesses beginning today as it determines the appropriate punishment for those involved in the brawl, says Wojnarowski. Neither team plays until Saturday, so the league has some time to mull its decisions.

As we detailed in our earlier story on the incident, Embiid and Towns brought the fight to social media after the game, though it’s not clear whether the league will take those tweets and Instagram posts into account when considering discipline.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Strus, Thybulle, Siakam

October 13th, 2019 at 8:35pm CST by JD Shaw

Despite improving his already-impressive arsenal, Sixers star Ben Simmons can’t get caught up in settling for jumpers behind the arc this season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Simmons shocked the Philadelphia crowd as the first half of the team’s preseason game against the Guangzhou Long-Lions came to a close last week, connecting on a deep shot from three-point territory — much to the delight of his fans and teammates alike.

“I know what I’m good at,” Simmons said, according to Pompey. “I know what I’m great at. There’s things I need to work on, but my game is not going to change in a day.

“I’m not going to come out and be shooting lights-out like [Golden State’s] Klay [Thompson] and Steph [Curry] or guys like them. My game is developing, and I work hard.”

As most fans already know, Simmons played the entire 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons without making a single three-pointer. He appeared in 160 regular season games during those campaigns and finished 0-for-17 from deep, which doesn’t include his lone three-point miss in 22 postseason games.

At 6’10” and 230 pounds, Simmons is known to be one of the most versatile point guards in the NBA. His game would be much more dangerous for opposing defenses if the 23-year-old manages to develop a consistent stroke from three-point territory.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:

The Celtics moved to sign Max Strus on a two-year deal largely because Strus was willing to add a fully non-guaranteed year in his contract next season, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. Strus has impressed Boston officials with his strong efforts in practice, earning a new deal with the organization on Sunday.
Sixers wing Matisse Thybulle looks ready to work for a spot in the team’s rotation this season, Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes. Thybulle, 22, had his draft rights traded from Boston to Philadelphia after being selected with the No. 20 pick last June.
The Raptors will need even more production from fourth-year forward and reigning Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam in order to be successful again this year, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “We’ll give him a lot of freedom and a lot of opportunities to continue to expand his game,” head coach Nick Nurse said, according to Smith. “He should be somebody that has a great season. I think he can expand it and maybe (add) five, six points a game to his scoring average.”

Sixers Notes: Horford, Simmons, Korkmaz, Scott

October 1st, 2019 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford decided to leave a contending team in Boston because he saw a better opportunity for a championship with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia enters camp among the favorites to win the NBA title, and Horford will serve as a veteran presence in an impressive starting lineup that also features Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson.

“The opportunity to win, I am going in my 13th season, that is important to me,” Horford said. “I feel we have an opportunity to win now and that was something that was hard for me to pass.”

Horford seemed like part of the foundation in Boston, but he surprised the Celtics by opting out of the final year of his contract and agreeing to a four-year, $109MM agreement with a bitter rival. He said the experience of leaving Atlanta for Boston three years ago helped him prepare for the adjustment of changing teams.

“I have done this before, so for me it is a little easier, the transition,” Horford said. “Another side of it can be overwhelming with all that comes with being on a new team and building relationships and getting to learn the city and all these things.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

With a new five-year extension in hand, Simmons is ready for a fresh start to his NBA career, which includes ignoring critics who harp on his jump shot or anything else, relays Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Simmons spent the last few months trying to fix his errant jumper and said he fell in love with the game again during the offseason. “I think I was too worried about what people were saying, what was going around, too many outside noises,” he said. “I was able to really block them out this summer and not really focus on what people were saying.”
Furkan Korkmaz will have to improve his 3-point shooting to have a consistent role this season, observes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Korkmaz requested a trade last season and has complained about his lack of playing time. Bodner notes that Philadelphia added depth at the wing position, so Korkmaz may see even fewer minutes this year.
Mike Scott admits to poor judgment when he fought with Eagles fans after showing up to the team’s opening game in a Redskins jersey, relays ESPN.