Sixers Bell Ringer: Game 66 - Houston is a problem

For a refresher on what constitutes a Bell Ringer, please reference the initial post.

Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 21
Ben Simmons - 17
Jimmy Butler - 9
JJ Redick - 7
Tobias Harris - 3
Robert Covington - 1
Dario Saric - 1
T.J. McConnell - 1
Furkan Korkmaz - 1
Landry Shamet - 1
Corey Brewer - 1
Boban Marjanovic - 1
Mike Scott - 1

The Sixers gave up 37 points in the first quarter to Houston and shot 3-for-26 from 3 for the game. They lost 107-91. It was not pretty. Liberty Ballers Twitter devolved into a Game of Thrones discussion for the fourth quarter. Like Meera dragging Bran along in a sled, we trudge on with another Bell Ringer selection.

Tobias Harris: 22 points, 9 rebounds, 0 turnovers

Harris ran the floor for some early dunks in transition and shot the ball well overall (10-for-15 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3). He made 66.7 percent of the team’s total 3s, which is a problem insomuch as he didn’t make 10 of them, but we can hardly find fault with Harris for that fact. Yet, Harris was a team-worst minus-20, and the lack of any complementary stats speaks to a reduced impact.

Jimmy Butler: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers

Tough week for Jimmy, who suffered a terrible defeat in his longtime NBA home of Chicago, and now a blowout loss in Houston, not far from his hometown of Tomball, Texas. Like Wednesday night, he came out aggressive and led the team in field goal attempts, shooting 8-for-18. Maybe the ‘why is Jimmy being so passive’ contingent can simmer down now?

Butler also grabbed a whopping SEVEN offensive rebounds. I know there were plenty of missed shots by the Sixers to track down, but that’s still an impressive total. He was only a minus-3 across his 34 minutes, so tough to pin him down for much of the blame Friday night, even if James Harden crossed him over back to Tomball.

Ben Simmons: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 turnovers

Ben was one of the few Sixers to look like he was trying on the defensive end; he tallied yet another block of a 3-point attempt and anticipated well to force some steals/deflections. Offensively, some of the only positive plays for Philadelphia on the night came with Simmons running the break and making a gorgeous feed to someone for a dunk. The behind-the-back dish to Jimmy Butler was truly a thing of beauty. It was also another positive night at the free throw line for him (3-for-3 and now 16-for-19 in March).

The turnovers were terrible though. He had some truly poor decisions, and getting stripped by Chris Paul in the post when Simmons tried to face up was embarrassing. Can we still reason that he’s young and will grow out of these giveaways?

T.J. McConnell: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers

T.J. was the only Sixers bench player to show a pulse when the game was still mildly contested, working his way in for his usual diet of mid-range jumpers and short runners. More though, I wanted to include McConnell here for the revelation that HE HAS A BACK TATTOO! When he was at the free throw line, his jersey slipped enough to reveal angel wings back there. Maybe this was common knowledge? But having watched the man for four years, it caught me by surprise. You’re the wind beneath Philadelphia’s wings, T.J.