The Philadelphia 76ers will conclude a three-game highway journey Wednesday in opposition to the Houston Rockets looking for to increase their successful streak to 6 video games and proceed their penchant for late-game defensive heroics.

The Sixers have come to rely on guard Ben Simmons in end-game conditions, with an distinctive defensive play by him typically offering the 76ers with a cease at a most important juncture.

Simmons stays integral to all the things the 76ers do, on each ends of the courtroom, however it’s his defensive would possibly that earns fixed raves. Simmons, distinctive defensively all through the season, continues to make a behavior of thriving when the second is dire and the necessity urgent.

“Each evening,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers stated when requested to distill two particular defensive performs that Simmons made to protect current Philadelphia victories. “You do not see me campaigning and I am not going to, I am simply going to say it once more: There’s not a greater defender on this league.

“We’re speaking about ultra-quick guys, we’re speaking about massive guys. His potential, his power is I believe what surprises most guys that he is guarding. He is simply been actually good for us.”

The 76ers (44-21) entered Tuesday second within the NBA to the Los Angeles Lakers in defensive ranking at 106.8 factors allowed per 100 possessions and Simmons, a candidate for Defensive Participant of the Yr, ranks within the high 10 in a number of superior statistical classes reflecting particular person defensive prowess.

Solidifying the protection for the stretch run is a main purpose for the 76ers, whose offense has been pedestrian regardless of the presence of an MVP frontrunner in heart Joel Embiid and a set of succesful shooters charged with spreading the ground for Simmons’ daring forays to the rim. This newest stretch of optimistic outcomes has the 76ers atop the Japanese Convention (one sport forward of the Brooklyn Nets, getting into Tuesday evening), and being on the point of clinching the highest seed for the playoffs is incentive for the 76ers to maintain pushing.

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“The final couple of video games for us [has been] simply attempting to get our full rhythm and make an enormous push right here in direction of the top of the yr,” 76ers ahead Tobias Harris stated. “Being in first place is nice, it has been a purpose for us all yr lengthy. We need to maintain it. We’re simply seeking to journey this factor out being as wholesome as attainable and in an ideal rhythm for after we begin the playoffs.”

The Rockets’ offensive struggles have been excessive, and their reliance on comparatively inexperienced gamers has exacerbated their shortcomings. But, regardless of the quite a few lumps Houston (16-49) has taken this season, the chance to compete in opposition to a juggernaut is embraced.

“Clearly they have dimension, numerous size with Embiid,” Rockets ahead Kelly Olynyk stated. “They usually’ve obtained massive guards, massive wings. They will swap, they’ll strain, they have energetic arms. They do a whole lot of various things and so they do them nicely.

“They’re fairly disciplined. They are going to assist get better, they shut the gaps to shooters nicely. They’ve a superb report for a cause, so it’ll be a superb problem for us and one thing we look ahead to.”

The problem will likely be stuff for Houston, which is 6-40 after a 10-9 begin to the season and owns the worst report within the NBA.

–Area Stage Media