Sixers Bell Ringer: Joel Embiid puts on the mask as the Sixers beat the Hornets

Sixes Bell Ringer season standings:
Jared McCain – 8
Paul George – 3.5
Tyrese Maxey – 3.5
KJ Martin – 2
Guerschon Yabusele – 2
Joel Embiid – 2
Justin Edwards – 1st
Kelly Oubre Jr – 1st
Ricky Council IV – 1
(No poll was sent after the 12/16 win over Charlotte, so in a Liberty Ballers first, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey each received a half Bell Ringer.)

If the Philadelphia 76ers were able to play the Charlotte Hornets twice a week for the rest of the season, I am confident that they would not only make the playoffs, but also gain home court advantage for the first round. Unfortunately, the Sixers can no longer spam the Hornets to move up in the standings, as Friday night’s 108-98 victory in Philadelphia was the last meeting between the clubs this season (the Sixers went 4-0).

The big story tonight was the return of Joel Embiid after missing a game with a sinus fracture. The Phantom of the Process was back as Joel donned the mask for a second time during his unhappy career. The mask didn’t slow Embiid down too much as he led all scorers with 34 points and nine assists.

Philadelphia led by 23 points early in the game, but allowed Charlotte back into things and the lead was down to just six points in the fourth quarter. Still, the Sixers reapplied the pressure and stopped the bleeding, finishing with the comfortable double-digit victory. Friday marked the first time three Sixers have scored 20 points or more in a game this season, so let’s go ahead and make these three guys our Bell Ringer nominees for the night.

Joel Embiid: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

For a guy who had yet to come back from a sinus fracture, hasn’t played much lately or at all this season and has discussed how he doesn’t like playing with a mask, Joel Embiid looked pretty good on Friday ​the evening. Now you could definitely notice some differences from his normal game. He didn’t mix it up much in the interior, and didn’t record a rebound until the fourth quarter. But it certainly had a rhythm to it, knocking down many jumpers and looking completely composed in orchestrating the attack. Embiid made some excellent reads finding Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre for buckets, and it’s crazy how much the offense opens up with a former MVP out there drawing attention from the defense. Later in the game, Joel looked more comfortable creating himself off the dribble, dropping Vasilije Micic with a shimmy to nail a pull-up jumper and finishing a handful of drives with finger roll-lay-ins. The Phantom of the Process played all the right notes this evening.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Tonight was a near-perfect ‘let the flow of the game come to you’ performance from Kelly, who finished 8-of-10 from the field. He knocked down four triples, all of which were the catch-and-shoot variety from two Sixers stars (two assists from Paul George and two from Embiid). Nothing was forced, with his other buckets coming in transition or off the cut (with a nice floater off the dribble to save the Sixers with a buzzer beater to end the third quarter). With all three stars available to Philadelphia, Oubre slipped seamlessly into the role player identity and did everything you wanted him to do.

Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Tyrese’s hot shooting start was one of the primary reasons the Sixers were able to jump out to a huge lead and set the tone for the rest of the game. He shot 4-of-6 from three and scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, making sweet music with Embiid in the two-man game. Unsurprisingly, it’s definitely easier for Maxey when he’s able to outplay the big man. While his shooting would cool off, he stepped up his game, with all six of his assists coming in the second half, including a silly one-handed alley-oop to KJ Martin in transition. It wasn’t a completely dominant performance from Maxey, but with the Sixers having fewer names on the injury report than usual, they didn’t need to, and Tyrese did more than enough to contribute to the win.