Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers lay an egg in blowout loss to Cleveland

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:
Joel Embiid - 2

With Joel Embiid a late scratch for this game due to back tightness, we were assured of adding someone new to the seasonal Bell Ringer leaderboard. Unfortunately, Joel’s absence from the lineup also meant the return of the dreaded road Sixers, as Philadelphia lost 118-94. You’d like to chalk it up to a second game of a road back-to-back, but the Cavaliers played in a double overtime game last night, so it was simply the Sixers not showing up with any juice whatsoever. Let’s select a Bell Ringer and then never think about this game again.

Tobias Harris: 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Sadly in line with the Tobias Harris narrative of late, his best game of the season came in an absolutely dreadful overall Sixers performance, so no one is going to care much about it. Tobias started out hot, recording 10 points and two assists in the first quarter, being responsible for over half of the team’s points in the opening frame. Harris was much more decisive tonight, and aside from one or two slips, was willing to pull the trigger right away from behind the arc; he finished his night 4-of-6 from 3. We also saw some strong play-making from Tobi tonight, either pushing the pace in transition or finding Tony Bradley for a dunk with a dump-off pass underneath off the dribble. Add in a couple nice defensive plays and it was the type of outing we’d like to see from Harris on a more consistent basis.

Ben Simmons: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 6 turnovers

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

This was far from Ben’s best game, but we’re grading on a curve with these Sixers tonight. So I’ll just mention the six turnovers and how Ben needs to have more of a plan when he gets into traffic, and then we’ll move on to the positives. Simmons had a pair of blocks against Kevin Love, including yet another rejection of a 3-point attempt. As usual, he was at his best in transition, whether finding an open teammate while the Cavaliers defense scrambled to get back, or heading straight to the rim himself for a slam.

Dakota Mathias: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 turnovers

The benches emptying in the fourth quarter meant the NBA debut for Dakota Mathias, and while I imagine no one else in Philadelphia will look back on this night fondly, I’m sure he will. Mathias knocked down a mid-range jumper for his first NBA points on his first-ever touch, and went on to sink two of his four 3-point attempts (one of the misses being an unfair bail-out shot at the end of the shot clock). He also made a really nice pocket pass out of the pick-and-roll for a Tony Bradley dunk. Thanks for providing one fun subplot in the waning minutes of a mostly unbearable basketball game, Dakota.