Sixers cruised to a win over the Timberwolves 118-94.
Despite a sluggish start to the evening’s affairs, the Sixers ultimately cruised to a blowout win over the Timberwolves. Kicking off a three-game road trip with an easy victory – where starters are able to rest in the second half – is always a fantastic outcome.
On the back of their superstar MVP candidate Joel Embiid, Philly has now improved to an Eastern Conference-leading 14-6. Here are some quick takeaways from the Friday night victory:
Embiid is still the MVP frontrunner.
After a dominant performance against the likes of Anthony Davis and LeBron James earlier in the week, Embiid continued to build on his MVP resume tonight against an understaffed Timberwolves squad.
With Karl Anthony-Towns out of action, Embiid was able to take advantage of a glaringly weak Minnesota interior. He finished the night with 37 points and 11 rebounds, going 16-18 from the free-throw line.
If Embiid continues to perform like this, and the Sixers keep on winning games, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the big man wouldn’t secure the MVP award.
Go vote Tobias Harris into the All-Star game.
Hey! The NBA’s All-Star voting is officially open, so that means you all need to go cast a vote for Tobias Harris right this second.
In all seriousness, Tobi has definitely looked like an All-Star this season. His field goal percentages are through the roof, and he’s doing a fantastic job generating offense for the Sixers when Embiid and Simmons are off the court. He wasn’t *spectacular* tonight, but 17 points and 11 rebounds is nothing to scoff at. Go vote the man into his first career All-Star game, y’all.
Maxey’s spot in Sixers depth chart continues to slide
With Furkan Korkmaz and Seth Curry now fully healthy and back into the team’s rotation, standout rookie Tyrese Maxey has unfortunately become the odd man out. His playing time has been on the lower side recently, only receding 10 minutes tonight due to the game ending as a blowout.
With that said, Doc Rivers should keep working to find a more solidified role for the former Kentucky guard. Maxey had 8 points off the bench tonight, and his ability to quickly create spurts of offense is a luxury the Sixers should be weaponizing.
The Sixers get Saturday off and then will head out to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers come Sunday night.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
