"You only had 105 million [dollars] not in the game tonight" - Doc Rivers talks about Philadelphia 76ers winning without Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris

The Philadelphia 76ers found a way to the Portland Trail Blazers 113-103 on November 1st, 2021. The 76ers won this game without three of their key players while also having another vital role player leave in the third quester.

Ben Simmons has yet to fully rejoin the team or be available for a game yet. Tobias Harris missed the game due to health and safety practicals, while Joel Embiid missed the game to rest, as he has been dealing with a knee injury. Finally, Danny Green seemed to have pulled his hamstring during the third quarter and asked to be taken out.

Seth Curry and Georges Niang combined for 44 points, and six threes, as the 76ers had seven players who scored over 10 points. The win over the Trail Blazers was a team effort with no stars participating in the game, other than the ones on the Blazers.

After the victory, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers talked to the media and praised his role players by saying:

“It was great. I was joking with [Sixers co-owner] Michael Rubin, I said, ‘You only had 105 million [dollars] not in the game tonight,’ It was a just a good team effort. We went with some crazy lineups. A lot of small-ball.”

Last season, Embiid, Simmons, Harris, and Green averaged 57.5 points per game for the 76ers, so winning a game without those pieces is a testament to the team’s depth.

Do the Philadelphia 76ers have better depth than last season?

Philadelphia 76ers role players Andre Drummond #1 (left), Tyrese Maxey #0 (middle) and Georges Niang #20 (right)

The Philadelphia 76ers have high hopes to continue to be NBA Final contenders with or without Ben Simmons on the roster. This is possible since Embiid is one of the best players in the league, coming second in MVP voting last season, and Harris could be a reliable second option star.

Despite that, a lot of the heavy lifting would be placed on the shoulders of the role players to make up for Simmons' production. That is until the president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, can find a decent trade partner or Simmons returns.

The additions of Georges Niang and Andre Drummond seem to be working out for the Philadelphia 76ers. Niang is a great spot-up three-point shooter who is also a versatile wing defender, while Drummond is a former All-Star who has fallen out of favor in the NBA.

Drummond is playing the least number of minutes in his career in a lesser role, at 18.8 minutes per game, but seems to be thriving. His role has been simplified to just being a backup and doing simple tasks throughout the game, mainly having to rebound, play interior defense, and put in the occasional putback.

The Philadelphia 76ers are also getting help from within their roster. Despite shooting 45% last season, Seth Curry struggled due to COVID-19 and injury, only scoring 12.5 points per game. So far this season, Curry has been the third leading scorer on the 76ers with 16.4 points and shooting 53% from three on 5.3 attempts.

Sophomore player Tyrese Maxey has also taken a leap in his second season, averaging 14 points per game with four assists in his seven starts. On top of that, Shake Milton is slowly making his return from injury, and in three games off the bench, he has averaged 18.3 minutes and 11.3 points.

Matisse Thybulle is adding to his stellar defensive reputation from last season, coming off the bench and being the Philadelphia 76ers best permitter defender. Furthermore, Furkan Korkmaz continues to be the 76ers secret weapon off the bench, who can come in a drop multiple heat check threes to jump-start the 76ers offense.

The Philadelphia 76ers still need their star players to perform and be available, but it is good to have this quality of depth, even more so for a team with NBA Final aspirations.

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