For a refresher on our Bell Ringer series, take a look back at our first post of the season.
Bell Ringer Standings
Ben Simmons - 16
Tobias Harris - 12
Joel Embiid - 11
Josh Richardson - 8
Furkan Korkmaz - 6
Matisse Thybulle - 3
Shake Milton - 3
Al Horford - 2
James Ennis - 1
Raul Neto - 1
Glenn Robinson III - 1
With the NBA suspending its season in the wake of Rudy Gobert testing positive for the coronavirus, Philadelphia’s 124-106 win over Detroit Wednesday night rightfully feels incredibly insignificant. Not only is the league completely altered at the moment, but we are all in the midst of a global health crisis. People’s lives are about to be disrupted in an enormous way, and that’s just in regard to the fortunate folks who won’t directly combat this situation in a medical sense.
That being said, sports are often said to be a diversion from real-life concerns. We won’t have the sport of NBA basketball to act as a diversion for the foreseeable future, so let’s spend a little time reflecting on the last 48 minutes of Sixers basketball we were able to watch for who knows how long. If you could care less about what happened between the Sixers and the Pistons Wednesday night, I totally understand. If you want a few minutes to escape and think about ultimately meaningless entertainment, let’s select a Bell Ringer.
Joel Embiid: 30 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers
I don’t know what is going to happen with the rest of this NBA season, but I am glad to have witnessed Joel Embiid play one more time before we all went on hiatus. Making his return from a shoulder injury, Joel was every bit the part of the fun-loving good a—hole he said he wanted to get back to being. He bullied the Pistons down low, repeatedly drawing fouls and shooting 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. He knocked down two of his three triples, and looked well-conditioned getting up and down the court.
Embiid also picked up a garbage tech when he and Brandon Knight were having some good-natured ribbing after Knight fouled Joel to prevent a dunk. Let the man have some fun! At least Joel was able to have some fun earlier in the game, when he unleashed a glorious DX crotch chop on a prone Khyri Thomas following a Mike Scott poster dunk.
just a tremendous taunt by Joel Embiid pic.twitter.com/K4xcDoffHJ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 12, 2020
Al Horford: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers
After looking rejuvenated over the course of the West Coast trip, with the extra few days off since the team’s return from California, Al Horford looked...springy. You could see the extra bounce as Al went up to block a shot, hustle for an offensive rebound, make a sharp cut to receive a feed underneath from Joel for the dunk, or dive to the rim to get the assist from Matisse Thybulle. Horford dominated both in the post and from the outside, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3, in addition to making some on-the-money passes. With Horford playing much better the last couple weeks, it’s good to know that whenever the Sixers do eventually retake the floor, his presence may represent more than the sunk cost of his contract.
HORFORD
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 12, 2020
Horford with a make from beyond the arc as the Sixers lead 83-68. pic.twitter.com/BMAfZXhP2E
Matisse Thybulle: 9 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 turnover
The rookie had hit a bit of a wall lately, so it was wonderful to see him exhibit that explosive two-way energy against the Pistons. Matisse twice absolutely snatched the ball away from Brandon Knight, soloing himself down the court for breakaway slams. Thybulle also knocked down a 3, and whipped out a pretty euro step to drive and dish to Horford for a dunk. It’s a special kind of energy from the crowd when Matisse is out there making plays and wrecking absolute havoc on the opposition.
Matisse Thybulle is a bully on defense.#NBA| #Sixers | #PhilaUnite
— Kyle Carney (@k014c) March 12, 2020
pic.twitter.com/d4t4cUbvGG
Furkan Korkmaz: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover
Furkan had the hot hand from downtown against Detroit, shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc and getting fouled on another 3-point attempt. I was more impressed, though, in his two buckets from inside the arc, a pump-and-go where he swished home a short floater along the baseline, and a sweeping left-handed drive off a dribble-handoff. It’s terrific that Korkmaz is hitting open shots, but adding the ability to do something more off hard close-outs and an overplaying defense has really made him an effective offensive player.
Furkan Korkmaz Sixers high 13 points at the half pic.twitter.com/ZVGA7m9GaN
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 12, 2020
Poll
Who is the Sixers’ Bell Ringer for their last game pre-suspension?
This poll is closed
-
70%
Joel Embiid
-
22%
Al Horford
-
3%
Matisse Thybulle
-
3%
Furkan Korkmaz