The Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a comfortable win against the Charlotte Hornets thanks to Joel Embiid‘s 34 point double-double.
Embiid’s success is not overly surprising. The 26-year-old has now averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game over three games against Charlotte this year.
The Sixers as a team are now on an impressive run against the Hornets, winning 14 straight games.
Joel Embiid’s influence on this Sixers team cannot be overlooked. More often than not, he is the reason the team wins. His case for MVP is ever building, and his importance to this team supports his claim above all else.
What’s Going On With Seth Curry?
As impressive as Joel Embiid was, Seth Curry was uncharacteristically quiet. The known sniper failed to score a single point despite playing for 32 minutes.
What might be even more shocking than the lack of scoring is the lack of tries. Curry only took three shots; that’s one-third the amount of his season average.
Thankfully, the Sixers didn’t need any extra scoring from Curry. Still, obviously, he’ll need to look for his shot a bit more in the future. There will come a time where the Sixers simply won’t have the luxury of Curry being passive.
Curry is averaging little more than eight points per game since returning to the court after his battle with COVID. Clearly, he’s far from his regular self, and that’s okay.
The good news is that there is likely no need for long-term concern. Curry is a shooter at the end of the day and a hard-working one at that. Curry is well aware of who he is, and it’s only a matter of time before he looks like he did when the season started.
Philadelphia 76ers’ Bench Struggles Continue
Only one play on the Sixers’ bench was able to score more than five points. That player was, of course, Shake Milton.
Milton has been to only consistent bright-spot on a young Sixers bench. Dwight Howard has been invaluable in many ways, yes but not in the primary way the team needs.
After tonight’s game, the Sixers are in the bottom third of the league in bench points per game.
Again, Shake Milton is the only consistent scoring they can boast. He may struggle to even find that consistency after suffering an injury tonight.
Milton would return to the game but more so out of necessity than anything. Regardless of Milton’s health, the need for bench scoring is painfully apparent.
Hopefully, Furkan Korkmaz and Tyrese Maxey can find consistency, but if not, the team must be prepared to make a move. Trade, free agency, who cares, just as long as it gets done.
