LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Before his Philadelphia 76ers beat the Orlando Magic 108-101 on Friday night, coach Brett Brown was asked about coming to grips with having to be without Ben Simmons moving forward.
“We don’t have him for tonight and you’re just numb to it,” Brown said. “You just move [on]. It ends up, as I’ve said, it’s like ‘ready, fire, aim.’ You figure it out.”
That clearly wasn’t what Brown, one of the most reliably good quotes among the NBA’s coaches, meant to say. But there may not be a better way to summarize both Philadelphia’s confounding season and its embarrassing performance against Orlando than, “ready, fire, aim.”
Philadelphia did survive this game, pulling away in the fourth quarter against a team missing two starters in Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac. There was little about their performance that would inspire confidence in anyone hoping for the Sixers to survive without Simmons and make a playoff run.
When inside Wells Fargo Center this season, Philly looks like the best team on the planet. Everywhere else — including inside the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort — they’ve looked decidedly mediocre.
Friday was no different, as Philadelphia meandered its way through a game it should have cruised to a win in.
Much of the reason for that was the play of Joel Embiid, the team’s superstar center. When Embiid plays inspired, there’s an argument that he is the best, and most dominant, player on the planet.
On this night, he couldn’t have been less inspired.
The stat line — 23 points and 13 rebounds in 37 minutes — looks respectable enough. But for large stretches of the game, Embiid’s played at a comfortable cruise control. On multiple plays he didn’t move as his opposite number, Nikola Vucevic, easily scored. And while he got whatever he wanted in the paint (7-for-9 shooting), he took almost as many shots outside of it — and missed them all.
Ultimately, the Sixers — like they did so many times this season — won on sheer talent in the end. But that likely won’t be enough in what looks like a first-round showdown against either their blood rivals, the Boston Celtics, or the Miami Heat.
Al Horford played well Friday night, but Josh Richardson [2-for-11] continued what has been a disappointing season since being swapped for Jimmy Butler last summer. And Tobias Harris finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds, but shot just 8-for-21 and is now shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
This is a team that gave up a combined 89 points in the fourth quarters of its first two games here, then escaped with a win against the winless Wizards before Friday’s lackluster performance.
In short, the Sixers have done nothing to show that they merit contender status in the East, whether Simmons returns or not. — Tim Bontemps
PAST BUBBLE INTEL: July 30 | July 31 | Aug. 1 | Aug. 2 | Aug. 3 | Aug. 4 | Aug. 5 | Aug. 6
Latest buzz
KD cashes in on Brooklyn’s postseason
Kevin Durant has earned a $1M bonus with Brooklyn now clinching a playoff spot. The bonus before the season was considered likely and will not impact his $40.1M cap hit for 2020-21. https://t.co/lwhsuuIgFR
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 7, 2020
LeBron shares update on Lakers’ Madden tournament
The combination of LeBron James and Tom Brady seems formidable, but apparently it hasn’t been enough to overcome Quinn Cook and Kyler Murray. James shared an update on the Lakers’ in-bubble Madden tournament on his Instagram Stories page earlier today, and Cook remains undefeated playing as the Cardinals, with James close behind. Meanwhile rookie Talen Horton-Tucker remains winless playing as the Minnesota Vikings.
Will send end of week 7 updates after tonight’s games. 🏈 🎮 https://t.co/WRhASRygdx
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 7, 2020
Thunder close half with six points in five seconds
Late in the first half, the Thunder trailed the Grizzlies by nine points. Then, in the blink of an eye, that deficit was cut to three at halftime.
Don’t count us out. #ThunderUp @gallinari8888 | @CP3 pic.twitter.com/JnxStkHUmx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 7, 2020
The Grizzlies recovered well, though, outscoring OKC 32-18 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
Happy birthday, DeMar DeRozan
San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan — who actually started at power forward Friday — celebrated his 31st birthday by scoring 13 points in a win over the Jazz. Though fans couldn’t be in the arena, they found a way to help him mark the occasion.
Our #SpursFamily wished @DeMar_DeRozan a Happy Birthday virtually! 🖤 pic.twitter.com/77D0p3wRMN
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) August 7, 2020
Zion (rest) out vs. Wizards
With the New Orleans Pelicans on the second day of a back-to-back, No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will sit out Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards for rest purposes. Williamson has averaged 19.1 minutes per game in the Pelicans’ four seeding games, three of which have resulted in losses. The rookie is putting up 16.8 PPG on 58.3% shooting in that stretch.
Jordan Clarkson gets ridiculous layup to drop
The Utah Jazz were playing without four starters against the San Antonio Spurs, which resulted in plenty of shot opportunities for backup guard Jordan Clarkson, who scored 24 points in 24 minutes, including this must-see twisting layup.
Friday’s must-see games
Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors | 9 p.m. ET
With these teams having a chance to match up in the second round of the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how both coaches approach it. The Raptors have been extremely impressive in the bubble, and the Celtics bounced back from a tough loss to Miami by dropping a cool 149 on the Nets. — Royce Young
Additional games
Play-in watch
Big moves could be made in both conferences Friday.
In the East, the Brooklyn Nets have officially clinched a playoff berth. Meanwhile the Orlando Magic fell to the Philadelphia 76ers, which means they’ll have to wait to see if the New Orleans Pelicans can defeat the Washington Wizards on Friday night to see if they too will clinch the final playoff spot.
In the West, the Grizzlies’ win gave them a one-game cushion over Portland. The Blazers are a game up on the Spurs, who opened Friday’s action by beating the Jazz.
Eastern Conference
7. Brooklyn Nets | 33-36 (.478) | —
8. Orlando Magic | 32-38 (.457) | —
9. Washington Wizards | 24-44 (.353) | 7.5 GB
Western Conference
8. Memphis Grizzlies | 33-37 (.471) | —
9. Portland Trail Blazers | 32-38 (.457) | 1.0 GB
10. San Antonio Spurs | 30-38 (.433) | 2.0 GB
11. Phoenix Suns | 30-39 (.435) | 2.5 GB
12. New Orleans Pelicans | 29-39 (.426) | 3.0 GB
13. Sacramento Kings | 29-40 (.420) | 3.5 GB
Full standings | Playoff matchups
Saturday’s must-see games
LA Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers | 1 p.m. ET
After losing to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Clippers got back on track by beating the Dallas Mavericks — their likely quarterfinals opponent — on Thursday behind 29 points from Kawhi Leonard. Portland, meanwhile, will be looking to knock off yet another surefire playoff team in the West after beating the Houston Rockets on Tuesday and the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Trail Blazers continue their push for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets | 3:30 p.m. ET
Denver will be hoping to get closer to full strength, as the Nuggets have played each of their first four games — which they split — with starters Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Will Barton all sitting out because of injuries. Utah, on the other hand, will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after it opens Friday’s slate of games with a matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
Additional games
Analysis and intel
Michael Porter Jr. and eight more breakout NBA players in Orlando
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Ten things I like and don’t like, including the most exciting nerd thing in the NBA
This week’s spotlight lands on a very real surprise contender, two Suns doing things and the best socks in the bubble.
Picking the NBA all-bubble team: The five best stars so far
Kirk Goldsberry takes a look at the players who are thriving in an unprecedented environment.