Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers’ supporting cast rises in Chicago win

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Ranking:

Joel Embiid – 16
Ben Simmons – 7
Tobias Harris – 6
Shake Milton – 4
Tyrese Maxey – 1
Dakota Mathias – 1
Matisse Thybulle – 1

With Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons both sitting down due to health and safety protocols after their barber tested positive for COVID-19 last week, things could easily have gone wrong in this first game of the second half. of the season. Instead, the rest of the Sixers roster played a pretty flawless game, crushing Chicago, 127-105, despite being overproduced from behind the arc as usual. It’s fitting that on Elton Brand’s birthday, Philadelphia’s depth in the middle played a big part in the victory. Moving on to the Bell Ringer candidates, with apologies for the omissions – it was a tremendous team-wide victory tonight:

Matisse Thybulle: 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals, 1 turnover

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Matisse was the guy who set the tone early for the Sixers, collecting four interceptions in the opening five minutes of the game, a work week for many players. Thybulle was everywhere defensively, even on games where he wasn’t credited in the box score; a game to change Wendell Carter, Jr.’s shot at the rim and prevent two points from coming to mind. Then, in the second half, Matisse took his talents to the other end of the court, confidently intervening in his shots and draining three 3. It was a 5 out of 5 night on the field with five steals, essentially the statline Matisse Thybulle that you might find in the erotica of Sixers fans.

Tony Bradley: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 0 turnover

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The Sixers are no stranger to the big center games against the Bulls this season (see: Joel Embiid’s 50-point game), and Tony Bradley has followed in that tradition. In just 22 minutes as a starter, the usual emergency third player got a perfect 7 of 7 from the field, showing a soft touch around the rim, tremendous energy on the offensive glass and even some handling ability of bullet in the open court. Bradley also provided Joel-like rim protection, which earned the tip of the cap for the big man himself:

After the game, Doc Rivers acknowledged how hard Bradley was working, claiming he had lost 25 pounds this season. It’s good to see Tony having time to shine tonight.

Tobias Harris: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 turnover

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Tobias didn’t drop the 50 points Doc Rivers joked about Tobi before the game, but the Sixers forward managed a 0 of 5 start to finish with another efficient performance of over 20 points ( 8 of 15 from the field, 7 of 8 from the foul line). Harris got things going in the basket, getting knocked down during a one-handed dunk in the lane that would have buried the mentions of my co-host Daniel Olinger. At the end of his 25 minutes of action, Tobias was nailing some absolutely ridiculous jumpers.

Dwight Howard: 18 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers

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There have been some of the head-shaking Dwight moments in this contest, the moving screen here, the fouls for throwing opposing players like rag dolls there. But these pieces were largely overwhelmed by the positive moments of Howard, who channeled his energy into chewing glass and applying paint, while also displaying extremely astute work as a pick-and-roll man. My favorite Dwight piece was a post-up, however, with Howard body Lauri Markkanen and slamming her so hard in the face that all of Finland felt it. Overall, I loved the Dwight Howard experience this season.