The Fresh Prince Rises

Since Joel Embiid spent a lot of his time recently quoting "The Dark Knight" I decided to use this opportunity to recap the game as well as the last few days in full "Dark Knight" style....

"The Fresh Prince" also known as Ben Simmons, decided to take matters in to his own hands on Tuesday night. Scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing 10 assists, and only committing three turnovers, while most importantly leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 110-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in front of a sold out crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.The Sixers improved to an NBA best 25-2 at home and now head in to the All Star break on a three game winning streak.

Ssssshhhhhh Gate 

It all started when Al Horford  decided to "shush" the home crowd this past Friday in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.  Al Horford's character in this Sixers movie is comparable to Commissioner Gordon. Crucial to the plot, but nothing exciting or flashy about it. Star player Joel Embiid on the other-hand? Certainly a main character, but a Villain or a Hero? This past Sunday at home against the Chicago Bulls,  Embiid "shushed" the Philly crowd after a frustrating stretch of play in the 4th Quarter on the way to edging out an ugly 118-111 win in a game against a putrid Bulls team.

Sixers: Agents of Chaos

Chaos ensued. The type of chaos that Heath Ledgers "The Joker" from the movie "Dark Knight" lived for. It feels that the entire 2019-2020 season (if not "Post Process" existence) is an agent of chaos. With each new story that breaks surrounding this team being just like one of "The Jokers" detailed explanations on how he got his scars.

After Embiid shushed the crowd that was booing him at home Sunday against the Bulls, Jo channeled his inner Harvey Dent and took to social media...

The Ultimate Villain: Bane

Tuesday nights match up against the Los Angeles Clippers had the feeling of an "end of movie" fight scene between Batman and the Villain after three hours of plot build up. Kawhi Leonard fits the perfect mold of the villain "Bane" for the game against the Clippers.

Kawhi is the same villain that quite literally bounced (four times) the team out of the postseason last year. At one point in the movie "Dark Knight Rises", Bane breaks the back of Batman. Kawhi Leonard did his own "back breaking" on the city of Philadelphia last year in that Game 7 in Toronto. Much like Bane,  Kawhi is just built differently. Showing no emotion, and possessing strengths on the basketball floor that are unmatched and never quite seen before. In a time where social media posts shine the brightest, Kawhi's social media accounts live in complete darkness...

Unlikely Hero

With any classic "Hero" movie, typically comes an unlikely character that saves the day. On Tuesday against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, that hero was Ben Simmons. The kryptonite of "no jump shot" and defenders sagging off of Simmons had no impact in this game.

The "Rotten Tomatoes" Recap of the Game:

Josh Richardson proved to be a valuable "sidekick" to both Ben and Joel. Richardson scored 17 of his 21 points in the 4th Quarter, while doing a lot of his damage in "Pick n Roll" sets with Simmons. Brett Brown made a lineup change by moving Al Horford to the bench and going with a starting lineup of Ben Simmons, Furkan Korkmaz, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid. This move seemingly gave the team the spacing that it has so desperately been looking for.

The offense flowed better, with more spacing in the half court,which allowed for Ben Simmons and the rest of the starting lineup to attack the defense and get in to the paint. Points in the Paint and Rebounding are the two areas that I have been focusing in on all season long. Typically, when the Sixers win these two categories, they win the game.They won both on Tuesday, 58-38(Points in the Paint) and 50-42 (Rebounding).  Ben dictated all of the spots he wanted to get to on the basketball floor, playing an all around game while leading his team to what felt like a must win game before the All Star Break.

Overall: 94%

The Final Act

As we head in to the much needed All Star break, let's put down our weapons (tweets) and let our heroes rest. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and the rest of the crew will be back in action in just nine short days.

In the words of Heath Ledgers Joker: "You know what I've noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan".

As we all know, Nothing about this season for the Sixers has gone "according to plan" and no one knows how this seasons script will end.

For now, its intermission. My suggestion? Get your popcorn ready...

AND HERE WE....GO.