Things to Watch: Sixers versus Wizards

After a nail-biting win against the Spurs, the Sixers are back in action for their third seeding game. They will be facing off against Washington Wizards. Here are some things to watch ahead of the matchup. 

Ben Simmons getting back on track

Ben Simmons had a rough night on Monday in the game against the Spurs. He was in foul trouble for most of the game and eventually would foul out in crunch time. Simmons finished with just eight points and five assists before his early exit. 

This is a good game to get Simmons going and have a nice bounce-back performance. The Wizards are one of the easier opponents the Sixers have in the bubble, this should make it easy to get Ben Simmons going on both ends and getting him back on track. 

Keeping up the balanced attack

One thing that stuck out for the Sixers between their first and second seeding game was the scoring distribution. In game one against the Pacers the Sixers' stars carried the scoring load, but against the Spurs, they had a strong balance of attack. 

When the Sixers are moving the ball well and getting all their players involved on offense they are almost unstoppable. Keeping the role players confident and knocking down shots completely opens up the game for the Sixers.

When all the players are hitting their shots it makes Joel Embiid more dangerous as well. We saw the kind of passer Embiid can be out of double-teams against the Spurs. If he has options on the perimeter to knock down shots it opens up another part of Embiid's game. 

Taking care of business 

Let's be real, the Washington Wizards are not competing for anything in the bubble. This game should be a nice easy win for the Sixers if they show up and take care of business.

The past two games the Sixers have broken out to good leads in games but then allowed their opponent to claw their way back. That cannot be the case in this game against the Wizards. 

The Sixers need to come out strong in this game and put the Wizards away early. Use this game as a chance to keep the momentum rolling and keep morale high. This should be a game where guys like Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris can get off their feet early and not have to log big minutes. Hopefully, the Sixers take care of business and don't allow the Wizards to give them a competitive game. 

Kevin McCormick is the 76ers insider for 97.3 ESPN and 76ers editor for Sportstalkphilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevinMcC973.