Embiid, Simmons Reflect On Season Of Growth With Disappointing End
Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The season may be over for the Philadelphia 76ers and it wasn't pretty the way they went out against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA's Eastern Conference semifinals, but remember, "The Process" is just beginning.
The Sixers' young core learned a valuable lesson this playoffs that will help them to improve the next time around.
"Everybody's gotta show up," said Joel Embiid. "You can't have one guy. We all gotta play well together. It takes more than one guy."
Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Ben Simmons had a difficult start to the series and had one of his worst stretches of basketball play the entire season.
"We know what to expect," Simmons said. "And it'll be a lot easier for us to come in and get games done and not put ourselves in a hole like we did. But I think maybe it's what we needed for the younger guys on the team, for Jo and I, to be in situations like that and learn from it."
Much of what fans witnessed during the Sixers series with the Celtics was simply the product of a young basketball team, untimely turnovers, poor shot selection and defensive lapses, but if they learn from this, the future in Philadelphia could be very, very bright.
Of course for things to move forward, it will take work, lots of work and that starts with Allen Iverson's most remembered word "practice."
