(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
It was one of those moments where you could hear Sixers fans across the country hold their collective breath. After failing to corral the alley-oop from Simmons, Embiid landed awkwardly and his back bent in a way a man of his size shouldn’t. He grabbed for his lower back and headed into the locker room. Despite how bad it looked, he was able to come back with around four minutes left in the 4th quarter. As for the rest of the game, the Lakers never had the lead at any point.
The Lakers were very depleted without Lebron, Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball. However, it was still refreshing that the Sixers stayed in control and never let them truly get back into the game. The Lakers were an arms–length away the entire night. The Sixers got a good game from just about everyone in the lineup and they will need that to continue. It looked as though they made a conceited effort to use Butler at the point. The offense moved well with him running the point and I think we will see more of that going forward.
They need more of Jimmy at the point to work because they are heading to the Bay area to play the the Warriors on Thursday. It is going to take more than just the big three of Embiid, Butler, and Simmons to get the job done there. The Warriors have become the hottest team in the league. They have won eleven in a row and have done it in convincing fashion. I always look forward to games like this one. The Sixers have a chance to see where they stack up against the best the league has to offer.
After Golden State, the Sixers head to Sacramento on Saturday. With Embiid’s latest injury scare, I would be resting him to give him some extended time off before Tuesday night’s showdown with the Raptors. If the Sixers can win two of their next three against the Warriors, Kings, and Raptors, I would be very impressed.
