Sexers Week 6 Power Rankings

The Philadelphia 76ers hosted Officer Mitchell and the Utah Jazz to South Philly for what was an uncomfortably easy win as they were up 20 points most of the match, but only ended up winning by nine points. We can now add the Capital One Arena to the list of cursed buildings the Sixers should never allowed to play in.

After determining that Scotia Bank Arena is probably not real and every time the Sixers travel there, we play a simulation of a game created by Adam Silver in which the Sixers lose a mind meltingly frustrating game, the team went down to the nation capital and caught a fat loss to Davis Bertans and the Wizards.

But after that, hoooooooooo boy was it Sixers time. An absolute and utter pummelling of the Cleveland Cavaliers occurred as the Sixers put up 141 points on a season-high 43 team assists (second highest this season is 36, highest last year was 40). Of the 12 players that checked in, all 12 recorded at least one assist, and nine players recorded three assists or more.

The Sixers followed up that blowout with a much closer than to needed to be victory against the Raptors. After going up 20-plus points against the Raptors, the dinos clawed their way back into it by pressing the hell out of an unprepared and unorganized South Philly team who was looking to coast to the win. Nonetheless, they got another victory and ended the week with a 3-1 record.

Sexer #1: Ben Simmons

He did it again.

In the last four games, Ben Simmons was an utter force. He averaged 20 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, while shooting 71 percent from the field, and 100 percent from three.

Defensively, Simmons racked up nine more steals and two more blocks to hold his league lead in total steals (51) and steals per game (2.3).

Ben has seemingly been on a mission to dunk on everyone’s f-word heads, as his aggressiveness and play style are shifting for the better this season. Brett Brown mentioned that he wants a three-point attempt per game from the point guard, and while we’re probably still a little ways away from that becoming a reality, it’s encouraging to see Brown publicly challenge Simmons mid season.

For more on Ben and his incredible week, turn to Liberty Ballers’ Tom West who broke down the top rated Sexer’s week in further detail…

Sexer #2: Matisse Thybulle

I am running out of words to express my full and absolute adoration for the most wholesome and genuine basketball player of all time. The rookie is making more than a noticeable impact on the court while remaining overwhelmingly humble off the court.

This week he dropped 53.6 percent (9/17) of his three-point attempts, bumping his season average up to 44 percent. His defense has been translating as well, as he has recorded a steal or a block in all but three games where he plays 12-plus minutes.

His career high 20-point performance against the Raptors elicited excitement from Sixers faithful as he scored his 20 on only nine shots. Going 6/9 (nice) from field and 5/8 from three, Thybulle has been exactly what the Sixers needed him to be in this rotation. Even if the three-point shooting drops, he’s now doing enough to warrant attention on the perimeter and draw some gravity away from the premier players on the court.

Thybulle also held a photoshoot opportunity in LOVE Park in Center City on Tuesday. The line got so long to meet the ever smiling Sixer that he had to leave many waiting patrons in the cold. One member of the rejected crowd, @kathleenhayn, has been on crutches and was amongst those not admitted to see Matisse. Thybulle’s attention was directed towards the crutched fan eager to see the rookie, and he ended up giving her two free tickets to the Raptors game on Sunday, when he rightfully showed out for a career game.

Thybulle got emotional after the game discussing his quick success and the support he’s gotten from his team, and from his city…

And how could I almost forget, Thybulle being “rookie hazed” into giving the the media members bottles of water after practice.

This levels of likability are honestly scary for a player so young.

Sexer #3: Tobias Harris

Mr. 180 has really had it going on for the Sixers as of late. He is averaging 25/6.5/3 in 34 minutes a game. With Embiid not looking his total self and overall just pretty (body language doctor here) sad out on the court, Tobias has stepped up and delivered for his club. Putting up 25 on 20 shots a night isn’t the most efficient scoring, but the Sixers offense has forever needed to someone to persistently hoist shots. His six three-point attempts per game over the last week (shooting 37.5 percent on those six) are a promising trend for the Sixers only main shooter in the core offense.

Sexer #4: Al Horford

Al Horford, who is on the Philadelphia 76ers, has been a handsome swiss army knife for his new club. A quick stat roundup for Horford’s last four games: 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, and clocking a 61.5 three-point percentage on 3.3 attempts per game. Much like Matisse, Al is molding more and more into the role the Sixers need him to be in for the long run. As the veteran leader on the court and in the locker room, Horford has been a guiding light on defense.

Both of these transition blocks get more and more bonkers the more I watch them. A three-on-one resulting in a convincing block, and a chase down block where Horford somehow shifts his body in front of Bojan Bogdanovic for the emphatic rejection.

Horford ranks 2nd on the team in PIPM (+3.07) and is leading the team in O-PIPM (+1.32).

Other Sexers Things:

James Ennis hitting an and-one three-pointer and doing pushups.

#CoachJRich has been getting absolute FITS while injured on the bench, drinking his apple juice.

The Sixers now face a tough slate of games. The Nuggets on Tuesday in South Philly, in Boston on Thursday, at home for the Pelicans on Friday, and in Brooklyn on Sunday.