The Philadelphia 76ers bounced back last night in Oklahoma City, beating the Thunder 115-103. The game was highlighted by Seth Curry’s unbelievable first quarter where he scored 23 points on 8-10 field goal attempts. He was 6-7 from beyond the arc. It was a nice performance from the Sixers, who collapsed over the final five minutes of the game on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets in their home opener. Andre Drummond was ruled out before the game and Joel Embiid was playing through a knee issue. OKC is an easy win, but moving forward, the 76ers will need to get Embiid healthy and ideally, Ben Simmons back playing with the team as they continue on through the season.

As for Ben Simmons, he spoke with Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid and then addressed the entire 76ers team late last week, finally taking some responsibility for the events that unfolded over the offseason and into the 2021 season. It was definitely a step in the right direction for Simmons, who is now taking some time to get himself back on track mentally before rejoining the the Sixers.

Before yesterday’s game, Daryl Morey joined Amy Fadool on Sixers Pregame Live to discuss the latest on Ben Simmons and the 76ers’ championship odds this season.

Daryl Morey Talks with Amy Fadool

Morey stated that Simmons is dealing with some back issues and obviously, some personal reasons off the court. The 76ers are working with Simmons to give him every resource needed, with hopes that he will be able to rejoin the team in the near future. As I said above, Simmons took a step in the right direction by meeting with coaching and his teammates late last week.

Morey reiterated that he is focused on ensuring that Simmons is in a 76ers uniform in the near future and that Ben will be undergoing individual workouts with the Sixers coaching staff, as well as medical treatment while he continues to get back in a good place mentally before rejoining the team.

Not much new here. Daryl Morey and the 76ers have been pretty consistent with their message about Ben Simmons throughout the entire soap opera. Of course, there were some frustrations when Simmons refused to sub in during practice and ultimately was told to go home and missed his media availability. If you notice over the past week, after Simmons spoke with his teammates and coaches, the message from the 76ers, including Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid, clearly changed. Embiid even spoke before the Sixers home opener to the crowds saying that everyone needs to show love and support “our brother” when talking about Ben Simmons.

It’s amazing what an honest conversation can do. Hopefully for the 76ers, Ben Simmons and his teammates continue to have them.

The 76ers are back in action tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden, where they will face the New York Knicks.