Grades From Sixers’ Win Over Pistons

After taking two straight games against the Bostons Celtics, the Sixers hit the road to take on the Detroit Pistons. Behind strong play from their bench, the Pistons would keep the game competitive until the closing moments.

In the end, the Sixers would escape with the victory by a final score of 114-110. Here are some grades from the matchup. 

Tobias Harris: B+

Tobias Harris has been a reliable contributor throughout this whole season, and that would continue in this game. The Sixers' second unit would struggle against Detroit, leaving it up to the stars to carry the load. 

He would finish as the team's third-leading scorer with 17 points and shoot just under 50% from the field. Harris continues to be lights out shooting the ball from deep, hitting a trio of threes against the Pistons. 

The glaring issue from Harris in this game was his turnovers. He would account for four of the team's 15 turnovers in this game. 

Outside of giving up the ball, this was another solid performance from Harris. He continues to keep himself in the conversation for a possible All-Star nomination. 

Joel Embiid: A+

The Pistons Pistons are not a deep team in the frontcourt, and Joel Embiid would make the most of it. Although Mason Plumlee is a solid experienced big, he is no match for the potential MVP candidate. 

Embiid would do what he has done all year and dominate whatever matchup is put in front of him. He would end the game with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and block two shots. These types of performances are slowly becoming a regular occurrence from Embiid. 

Another area he continues to thrive in is getting to the foul line. The Pistons' centers would rack up 12 fouls foul between the three of them, resulting in Embiid going to the line 17 times. Embiid would go on to convert 12 of those 17 attempts. 

This performance was a huge testament to the shape that Joel Embiid is in. Looking back at previous seasons he would never play in a game like this let alone play at the level he did. 

Ben Simmons: A++

After putting on a strong performance in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics on Friday, Ben Simmons would keep the momentum going against the Pistons. He would establish himself on offense from the opening jump en route to posting a season-high in scoring. 

Simmons would end the night with 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block. His past five quarters have been some of the best basketball we have seen from him this season. 

Like Embiid, Simmons would also get to the line at a high rate in this game. He would attempt 12 free-throws in the game and knock down 10 of them. Seeing him want to get to the line and hitting foul shots efficiently has been a great development this season. 

On top of what he did offensively, this was also one of his best defensive performances of the season. Detroit's Jerami Grant entered this game averaging 25 points per game but would score just 11 points on 3-19 shooting against the Sixers. 

After a slow start to the season, Simmons looks to be finding a groove with this new Sixers team.