Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons records 11th triple-double of season with ease
By Dan Parzych
With the Philadelphia 76ers in need of extra help with Joel Embiid sidelined, Ben Simmons recorded his 11th triple-double of the season on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
Despite the devastating lose surrounding Joel Embiid missing the next few weeks after suffering an orbital fracture, and concussion earlier in the week, the Philadelphia 76ers understand the last thing they can afford to do at the moment is hit the panic button. Heading into Friday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Sixers were still considered one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and while replacing Embiid may seem like an impossible task, the team still has every reason in the world to feel confident with Ben Simmons leading the way.
After missing all of last year, Simmons wasted no time proving he was going to be one of the league’s next big stars, as the former LSU standout is one of the main reasons why Philadelphia has not only clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, but also competing to host at least one series at home. And after recording yet another triple-double during Friday’s game against the Hawks, Simmons continues to show just how special of a player the Sixers currently have on their roster.
In fact, things were going so well for Simmons and Philadelphia that he was able to record a triple-double (13 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists) during the 101-91 win over Atlanta before the third quarter even came to an end, which is quite impressive for a rookie. With 11 triple-doubles now to his name on the year, Simmons continues to show that all of those horrendous seasons of losing and frustration was well worth the wait when seeing how bright the future finally is for this young Sixers team.
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Even if Atlanta has the worst record in the Eastern Conference at the moment, Simmons and the Sixers will take any win they can get at this point, as they continue to battle with teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers for higher playoff seeding. These kind of performances by Simmons may be tough to accomplish come playoff time, but with the way he’s been shining in the month of March with five triple-doubles, anything seems possible at this point, which has Philadelphia fans feeling good at the moment for the first time in what seems like forever.