Philly Collapse Game 5, time for changes?

Dantre Cole 6/16/21

Philly Collapse Game 5, time for changes?

Photo via CBS Sports

After being up by as many as 26 points on Wednesday’s game 5 at home vs the Atlanta Hawks in the Easter Conference Semi-finals, the Philadelphia 76ers had an epic collapse in the 4th quarter being outscored 40-19 by the young Atlanta Hawks team and losing 109-106. With the Hawks winning game 5 on the road, they now head home for game 6 with a 3-2 lead over the #1 seeded Eastern Conference Philadelphia 76ers and a chance to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2015 NBA playoffs. With Philly losing such a big lead in a crucial time, it may be time for the 76ers to think about making changes to their all-star duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Joel Embiid & Ben Simmons; The Accomplishments

Joel Embiid was recently named to his third all NBA second team, while Ben Simmons was named to his second consecutive NBA All-Defensive First Team. Both were voted NBA All-Stars this season, with Embiid making his fourth consecutive, and Simmons making his third consecutive respectfully. Embiid also made third NBA All-Defensive second team for the third time in his career. Both players led Philadelphia to a 49-23 record this season with new head coach Doc Rivers, good enough for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season heading into the playoffs for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the ideal situation. Embiid also finished second in MVP voting this season behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic, and Simmons finished second for Defensive Player of the Year behind Utah’s Rudy Gobert, but despite all the accomplishments and success in the regular season over the past few seasons with this duo, Philly can’t seem to get over the hump in the postseason.

Chemistry Issues/Solution

There have been multiple reports over the past years that Embiid and Simmons have little to no chemistry off the court together as teammates, which can cause major problems on the court. Philly will be left with a major decision on if they want to move Simmons during the offseason or sometime around the trade deadline next season and get some valuable assets for him while they can. It will be highly doubtful that if Philly had the choice too choose between keeping Simmons or Embiid that they will choose Simmons over Embiid, more than likely because when healthy, Embiid is a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate, while Simmons is terrible on the offensive side of the basketball when it comes to shooting and free throws, while he is one of the best defensive players in the league.

This past season, Simmons shot 61.3% from FT, and if he isn’t driving into the lane, more than likely he will miss a wide-open mid-range jumper or three point shot because opposing teams don’t respect his shooting, and they have no reason to. Simmons shot just 4/14 on FT attempts in the game 5 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at home, while shooting only a total of 2/4 FG with only 8 points. Embiid shot 12/20 for 37 points and 13 rebounds. In a league where almost every point guard can shoot, Simmons is one of the exceedingly rare exceptions. It is very evident that Simmons will have a lot of work to do on his shooting this off season to help Embiid out on the offensive end, or changes could be coming for the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star duo real soon. If Simmons can improve his shooting this off season and develop a solid midrange game, then Philly could make it over the hump in the Eastern Conference and make their first NBA Finals since 2001.