Sixers Bell Ringer: Sixers crush Wolves to move to 11-0 with full starting lineup

Sixers Bell Ringer Season Standings:

Joel Embiid - 8
Tobias Harris - 5
Shake Milton - 3
Ben Simmons - 1
Tyrese Maxey - 1
Dakota Mathias - 1

Initially, the energy whiplash in going from a nationally-televised game against Lebron James and the defending champion Lakers to facing the KAT-less, last-place Timberwolves was severe. The Sixers missed their first seven field goals, and failed to convert a lot of open shots throughout the first half. However, a continual march to the charity stripe kept Sixers fans from getting too nervous, and Philadelphia finally broke things open with a 35-point third quarter to earn a sizable double-digit advantage. Doc Rivers was able to rest Joel Embiid and his balky back for the entirety of the fourth quarter, and the final half of the fourth quarter was a full bench dump. Here are the Bell Ringer candidates from the 118-94 victory:

Joel Embiid: 37 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

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With Karl-Anthony Towns out due to COVID and backup Naz Reid a late scratch, the Wolves were down to third-stringer Ed Davis and a bunch of forwards to try and slow down Joel Embiid. They were...ineffective. Seeing the smaller Minnesota players bounce off Joel in the paint reminded me of Gulliver stomping through Lilliput. Embiid wasn’t even knocking down his shots early, but still collected 21 first-half points thanks to a 12-of-12 effort from the foul line. Finally, in the third quarter, he heated back up with his shot, going 6-of-7 from the field to tack on another 16 points in the period. 37 points in just 27 minutes and a chance to spend the fourth quarter getting the lower back massaged out. Not too shabby!

Tobias Harris: 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover

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Tonight actually qualifies as an inefficient game for Tobi, who shot just 6-of-17 from the field, but continued his trajectory towards an All-Star selection. He knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts, and made a handful of impactful defensive plays. But the signature play of Tobias’ night came when the game had already been decided, and Harris decided to give rookie Jaden McDaniels his “welcome to the NBA” moment with a Thor’s hammer dunk.

Matisse Thybulle: 2 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers

Rare to see someone with just two points in one of these lists, but that’s how outstanding Thybulle played on the defensive end. Doc Rivers said after the game that Matisse had 12 deflections by himself in one quarter. Both his blocks came on his patented backside recovery on a jump shooter, which Matisse has perfected into an artform. He basically teleported like Nightcrawler around Ricky Rubio whenever the veteran point guard had the ball.