Sixers Destroy Wizards in Game 2
What a beautiful game. 14 more to go.
Your number one seeded Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 120-95 Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Sixers take a 2-0 lead in the series and they will head to Washington to look to sweep the series by winning the next two matchups.
The Sixers are good, the Wizards are not. Simple as that. The Wizards just simply can not hoop with the 76ers. Heading into this weekend, we have to keep the momentum going as we continue our journey to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Ben Simmons was amazing, he was doing everything. Absolutely nothing to complain about when it came to Ben Simmons' performance last night. In game 1, Simmons only had 6 points and he received a lot of flack for his underwhelming scoring performance (even though he had 15 points and 15 rebounds), but he was able to silence the hate with 22 points. Scoring 12 points in the first quarter, you could tell he had the aggressive mindset that we have been begging him to have for the last 4 seasons. Ben also had 9 rebounds and 8 assists, the only reason he didn't end the game with a triple-double is that garbage time started halfway through the 4th quarter.
Joel Embiid is not human. We already knew that, but man.... he is special. When we play Embiid just 26 minutes in a playoff game, you know things are going our way. When Joel was in the game, he saw tons of double teams (which was expected), but his passing improves every time he plays. Embiid also made plays a 7'2 big man had no business making. Joel's ability to be mobile like a 6'3 guard and the physicality of a dominant center makes him unguardable. End of discussion. Embiid will have a mismatch in every single game he plays the rest of the playoffs.
How about our future DPOY Matisse Thybulle? Talk about a pest, Matisse is everywhere. In just 20 minutes, 5 steals and 4 blocks. Absolutely absurd. This stat line is gaining a lot of national attention, but we know this is just a regular Thybulle performance. I've said it before and I will say it again, Matisse Thybulle is a major key for our success in this year's playoff.
We had a couple of ankle injury scares with Tobias and Seth, but they were both able to return to the game. With two days of rest, we should have a healthy Tobi and Seth, but I'm sure both injuries will be monitored very closely.
The Deleware Blue Coats got their minutes, which was fun as always. The future is bright. I love the energy of Paul Reed, Rayjon Tucker, and Isaiah Joe. Anthony Toliver was getting minutes, let that sink in. Anthony Toliver was playing in the 4th quarter of a playoff game.
There was a stretch of time where Bradley Beal looked unguardable. Beal is the best player on the Wizards and he has been showing that the last 2 games. But with Beal playing at his absolute best and his team is still losing, it makes things even better. Beal ended the game with 33 points.
Russell Westbrook had an interaction with a crowd member while he was leaving the game with an injury, and popcorn has thrown at him. An absolute idiotic act by the 'fan' and there is no place for that in NBA Basketball. With that being said, Westbrook did not play well last night. Two straight performances in a row where he was been extremely underwhelming.
Davis Bertans was absolutely useless last night. 0 points, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 24 minutes, 6 fouls. Mike Scott usually isn't even that bad.
Game 3 will be Saturday night at 7 pm. You can watch the game on NBCSP and ESPN. You can listen to the game on 97.5 the Fanatic.