Make it 2-for-2

Taking care of business. That's the intro. No lengthy preludes to analysis necessary. The Sixers clamped down on a lesser opponent and ran away with a 120-95 victory.

So what did I think?

--Remember the other day when I said I wanted a 30-point shellacking? Well, I nearly got one here. The Sixers lead maxed out at 27 and was never less than 12 at any point in the second half, and for the bulk of the final frame the advantage was 20+. But it wasn't an end-to-end blowout by any stretch of the imagination. The Wizards only ever briefly led by a single point twice in the opening minutes of the first, but after looking likely to pull away late in that period by opening up a 35-24 lead to close it out, Washington stormed back early in the second to cut the deficit to a bucket at 48-46. But an Embiid 3-pointer--one of his three in the game--sparked life in the Sixers, and they finished the quarter on a 23-11 spurt that opened up a 71-57 halftime lead. At that point, it was, so they say, curtains for the Wizards. To put a picture on how badly the Wizards struggled, they shot 40.2% from the floor and 9.1% (not a typo) from deep, were outrebounded 45-40, had the ball stolen ten times, and had 14 shots blocked (!!!). Yeah No chance, breh.

--Again the starting unit was excellent. Joel Embiid was his typically efficient and effective self, scoring 22 points and grabbing 7 boards in 26 minutes. Tobias Harris added 19 and 9, Danny did Danny Green things, and Seth Curry, while he didn't shoot well (9 points, 1-of-4 from three), moved the ball well with three assists and nary a single giveaway. But a half to give a special shoutout to Ben Simmons. He came out in attack mode, and gashed the Wizards for 22 on 11-of-15 shooting, hauled in 9 rebounds and dropped 8 dimes against just two turnovers. He was also brilliant defensively as per usual, and added two steals and a block. It was the type of game where his fingerprints were all over the proceedings, and you only wish he had that level of aggressiveness every game. Maybe he can use this opening round as a tune up for that mentality going forward for when he needs it in the deeper rounds of the postseason.

--I am officially anointing myself as Chairman of the Matisse Thybulle FFL Club (that's Fan for Life to those of you not indoctrinated). The dude could literally brick every free throw and 3-pointer he attempts from now until the end of time and average 2 points a game for the duration of his career, and I still want him getting 30 minutes every contest. His defense is just that sensational. He became the first player EVER to rack up 4 steals and 5 blocks in less than 20 minutes in ANY NBA game, regular or postseason. What? Like literally, actually what? And he did it all while only catching one personal foul in the process. His on ball pressure is claustrophobic, and the havoc he wreaks off the ball is like controlled forest fire. It is not an exaggeration to say that at least two or three times per game, he zooms across the court to make a defensive play that I'm convinced no other player in the league would even try to do, and 90% of the time, it seems like it leads to a turnover or a deflection, and the other 10% of the time he bothers the offensive player enough that they're simply forced to get rid of the ball or jack up a shot that has no chance of going in. He is a special, special defender, the rare wing who has a chance to credibly challenge for Defensive Player of the Year awards in the years to come, a la prime Kawhi Leonard, except with even more raw playmaking ability. Nope. Not walking back this hype train, homie.

--Shouts out to Tyrese Maxey and Furkan Korkmaz. The former scored 10 points in his 13 minutes and added three blocks (um, yes, blocks), and Furkan added 13 points on just 6 shots. Maxey in particular has acclimated himself very well to the postseason environment and seems to only be gaining confidence. Relatedly, if Shake Milton continues to struggle (scoreless in his own 13 minutes, 0-of-6 from the field after just 5 points on Sunday), then the roles for those two (not to mention George Hill, who already logged 22 minutes off the bench in this one, and the aforementioned patron saint of all that is wonderful Matisse Thybulle) might only increase.

--Since there isn't much to analyze in a dominant win over a mediocre team, I'm gonna take this slot to touch upon the Russell Westbrook incident. If you aren't familiar, After the 32-year-old point guard injured his ankle in the fourth quarter, he made his way to the locker room, only for a fan to dump popcorn on him on his way through the tunnel. The fan was identified moments later and immediately ejected, he has been indefinitely suspended from the Wells Fargo Center and had his season tickets revoked, and the Sixers apologized to the Wizard point guard. Swift, efficient, necessary punishment. But it shouldn't even be a thing. Even worse, it wasn't even the only instance of fan misconduct on that night, as Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young was spit on by a Knicks fan up at Madison Square Garden. Elsewhere, in Utah, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant's family was taunted with racial slurs by Jazz fans. What the actual fuck is this? We just went through, and in many ways are still going through, a pandemic. Sports are an escape from the real world for millions of people in this country, and I know there is an added later of excitement after going so long without capacity crowds in stadiums. The energy in arenas is palpable, even watching from the comfort of my tv screen. But that is not how anyone should ever react in any way. Yes, these men can make more in a year than the vast majority of Americans earn in several lifetimes. A certain level of extra scrutiny is warranted when your lifestyle is that prominent and high profile. But those same men are still just that--men. Human beings. On the most fundamental of levels, they are no different than you, reader, or me, and viewed through that lens, they deserve the same basic respect and decency that you and I do. Learn how to act right.

What's Next?

The series moves down to Washington for game 3 on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.