Simmons highlights Sixers’ victory in preseason finale

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By Dante Nelson, Sports Talk Philly contributor  

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat 119-95 tonight in their final preseason game. The Sixers shot so well, they earned themselves a new nickname, which is fantastic. Ben Simmons had a preseason high 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting. He had seven rebounds and five assists with no turnovers. JJ Redick added 19 points as well as he continued to show his elite perimeter shooting as he went 5-for-6 from long range.

In a time when the 76ers were a terrible offensive team, there were nights when they were shooting so poorly, that this writer decided to give them an appropriate name: The Brixers. Why? Because they threw up bricks at the basket. Whenever the Sixers shot worse than 30 percent from the floor, they were the Brixers.

However, as the Sixers have shown this preseason, they can be a very terrifying team offensively. They have many shooters surrounding the do-it-all Embiid. This has spurred the Sports Talk Philly staff (specifically the Sixerdelphia squad) to fight for a new name for the on fire shooters of the Sixers. So, of course, this writer has obliged. 

The staff settled on this name: Swishxers (Swishx-ers…did that help?). A little tricky on the tongue, but it's something to represent that the team is making their shots. This writer has decided that when the Sixers are shooting better than 60 percent, they are the Swishxers.

The Swishxers appeared during the first quarter.

The Swishxers started off feeling hot, hot, hot! Let's all hope there aren't too many "heat" puns in this recap. But, yes, the Swishxers jumped to 62.5 percent from the floor on 7-10 shooting, including 4-5 from long range. The Swishxers led by as much as 12 points in the first quarter.

Joel Embiid went to work early, but it wasn't because of his scoring or defense. He got Hassan Whiteside into early foul trouble in the first quarter, which of course was key as the Heat rely on Whiteside for plenty of things. This likely played a big role in the Sixers being able to control most of the quarter.

The Swishxers eventually cooled to being the Sixers again.

The Heat actually shot well during the first quarter, but the Sixers had the real heat on the floor. At the end, the Sixers were up 34-29. While the Sixers cooled from shooting over 60 percent, they didn't drop below 50 percent from the floor.

The world became dark for a few moments close to the end of the second quarter as Embiid went down and immediately grabbed his knee. However, he did get up and continue playing. It's going to be like that until his retirement so Philadelphia should just be ready.

At the half, the Sixers were up 69 (stop laughing) to 54 and shooting 51.1 percent from the floor while the Heat were shooting 40 percent. Ben Simmons was doing things. 14 points on 7-9 shooting. Wow. That's Swishxer numbers! He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Oh, and no turnovers. JJ Redick also had 14 points while shooting 4-5 from 3 point range.

The Sixers scored quickly to start the second half as they went up by 20 points. As the 3rd quarter progressed, the Sixers' shooting dropped but the Heat didn't shoot much better. The Sixers continued to lead by more than 15 points for the quarter. The rest of the game was simply more of the same. 

That wraps up the preseason. It was a good preseason that has us here at Sports Talk Philly very optimistic and excited. The Process seems ready to move forward with a critical next step and once the roster is finalized, things should be very interesting.

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