Season 50, Game 49
San Antonio 102, Philadelphia 86
38-11, 2nd in the West

I was excited to see Joel Embiid; I was happy he wasn’t playing.

The Sixers aren’t as bad as you think. Perception often lags behind reality, and the Sixers of the last few years (punching bag of the NBA) don’t exist anymore. Sure, they’re not great, but they win games. They’re competitive. They even have an outside shot at the #8 seed in the East. They’re good. And ‘good’ is a huge step up from where they were.

On this night, however, they were missing Embiid and Nerlens Noel, thus making them closer to what they were than what they are. The Spurs seemed to approach the game as if they were facing last year’s Sixers, and it’s hard to blame them. They didn’t play poorly in the first half, they just weren’t sharp. They missed easy layups, made careless passes, and generally played with the energy and intensity of a team expecting to win.

The second half was a different story. They turned up the juice. The defense was on point, holding the Sixers to just 33 points all half. They made their rotations quicker, they jumped passing lanes and turned the ball over, they forced tough shots. On offense, they just tightened things up.

Jonathon Simmons was particularly good in the second half. It’s amazing the development he’s made this season. He no longer relies solely on his athleticism to be a plus-player (though that athleticism sure is spectacular); he’s become an honest to God basketball player. Pop has given him more and more free reign in the offense, and he’s even put the ball in his hand a bunch to be a primary and secondary ballhandler and playmaker, a la Manu Ginobili.

Thursday’s game really marked the first time I’ve noticed him not only comfortable in this role, but excelling. He made several forays to the basket that ended with clever layups and sweeping hooks. He also drew contact and got to the free throw line, always a good thing for personal stats and team success.

Simmons will need to be great for the Spurs to make noise in the playoffs. Remember, last season he basically got relegated to the bench once the big boy games came along (rightly or wrongly). To be great in the playoffs, top end talent needs to show up. Depth and breadth can carry you far in the regular season (why the Spurs have maintained such success over the years), but the top of your roster needs to show up in the post-season.

That’s what makes this post-season so intriguing. The best players on the roster (Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge) have never really had spectacular playoffs as the lead players (Leonard obviously has had great success as secondary talent). Several of our key bench players have never really had playoff success, period. Our most battle-tested veterans are clearly no longer what they once were and should ease into secondary and tertiary roles.

The team is a great regular season team. But in many ways they are a neophyte playoff team. With the Warriors where they are, that isn’t necessarily bad. Taking the long view, these next few seasons could be about getting seasoning for the “new” roster, perhaps getting ready for a push in a few years.

And if we arrive ahead of schedule? I’d be happy to go toe-to-toe with the Warriors.

The Spurs face the Nuggets at home on Saturday night.

Go Spurs Go.