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Sixers-Jazz: Ben Simmons takes over, and other quick thoughts from a 107-86 win

Five observations at the buzzer of the Sixers second victory over the Jazz this season.

Ben Simmons goes up for a shot against Utah’s Donovan Mitchell during the first half of the Sixers’ 107-86 win Monday night.
Ben Simmons goes up for a shot against Utah’s Donovan Mitchell during the first half of the Sixers’ 107-86 win Monday night.Read moreMatt Slocum / AP Photo

Ben Simmons’ second half takeover

At halftime, Simmons was just 2-of-9 from the field with only five points. He had trouble getting to the rim and when he did get there he wasn't connecting. Partial credit to Utah's defensive attention to Simmons, partial credit to the bad angle and odd shot selection when he was double teamed. But the second half was a different story. Simmons came out and was cutting harder, was more aggressive, and reaped the rewards. He closed out the night with a 27-point 10-rebound double-double. His free throw's still need work, but when he is able to correct and create for himself, it's almost forgivable that he went 1-of-4 from the charity stripe.

The mastery of T.J. McConnell

In just 7:32 in the first he managed eight points on 3-of-4 and a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line. By half-time he had thrown his body on the floor twice in an attempt to chase down loose balls. He didn't score again, but he was relied on in the crucial moments of the game and was one of the rare spots of energy (especially in the first half) in a game that at times lacked it.

Amir Johnson’s defense on display

The reserve center was used instead of Richaun Holmes. Brett Brown hasn't been using the two together much, it's been one or the other. Before the game Brown said he does so because of what the analytics say about matchups. No matter the reason, the outcome this time was great for Johnson. He was defensively more engaged than we've seen this season. He had four points, four rebounds, and two blocks in just over five minutes in the second quarter. He played through mismatched switches and managed to only commit one foul. He finished the night with eight points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in 21 minutes.

Jerryd Bayless returns?

He was back in the lineup but that is about all you can say about his first game back after a six-game absence. Defensively he caused some problems for Utah, but it wasn't a glaring amount. He played just over 16 minutes in his return and scored just five points on 2-of-3 with three turnovers. It wasn't that he was inefficient with his shots, it's just that they weren't there, and it didn't much seem like he was there either.

What is Donovan Mitchell doing?

In the Sixers last matchup against the Jazz, Mitchell went 3-of-21 from the field. He wasn't doing much better against them on Monday, but that didn't stop him from throwing shots up like he was an NBA champion's leading scorer with the biggest green light on earth. He finished 6-of-19 for a team-high 17 points. But that's not even the worst part. Does he know who Joel Embiid is? He has to know that he likes to talk, to get under the opponents skin, that he talks trash after a good block, right? Well, he fell for it. Embiid blocked him, Mitchell fell to the floor, Embiid gave him a good amount of expletives. This is his house was the message. Mitchell, instead of getting up and getting on defense, went after Embiid and blatantly pushed the center over. It was the easiest technical foul that the refs have handed out. And, the only thing that the whole debacle did, was make Embiid look like a king as he waived the crowd to keep cheering him on, and made Mitchell look like a chump.