Playing without one of the top players in the league is tough for anybody in the NBA. That is what the Philadelphia 76ers have done so far in the 2021-22 season en route to an 8-7 start without Ben Simmons.
They were 8-2 and playing solid basketball until losing Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle and others to the league’s health and safety protocol. It has been tough to overcome those losses without Simmons even with strong play from Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry.
Curry has been terrific to start the season, despite a tough outing on Tuesday in Utah. He has been a big presence. He is averaging a career-high 15.4 points to go along with 52% shooting from the floor, 46.5% from deep and 93.1% from the free-throw line.
The impressive part is he has done this without Simmons, who does a terrific job of setting up teammates and assisting 3-point shooters. Despite not having him out there, and even without Embiid, Curry has continued to find success.
In an interview with Michael Scotto over at HoopsHype, Curry gave his thoughts on the Simmons situation:
Honestly, it’s been pretty normal. He hasn’t really been around the team at all, so it’s not like it’s been a distraction or anything. It’s kind of like he’s been out and not here. We know who we have on our team to start the season. Obviously, if he comes back, we’re going to integrate him. He’s been part of the team for a long time, so it shouldn’t be that hard.
It’s unfortunate. I just view it as like a guy who got a long injury. I focus on who we have on the team, who comes to practice every day, who’s at shootaround, and how we’re preparing for the games. It’s unfortunate he’s not with us because he’s obviously a big part of the team and a great player who can help us win even more, but everybody has their own situation in this league. It’s a business. I know he’s going through some stuff, just like teams go through stuff throughout the season. He deals with the consequences of the stuff he does with the fines or whatever it is. It goes both ways.
Curry has one season left on his contract, the four-year, $32 million extension he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in the 2019 offseason. After bouncing around for the majority of his career, the sharpshooting veteran out of Duke would like to remain in Philadelphia.
He told Scotto:
I hope so, but I thought I’d be in Dallas for a long time, too, so you never know. It’s a crazy business. Things change fast. As a player, you want to be somewhere for a long time. It’s been a great fit. I love the energy in Philly. We’ll see what happens.
In the meantime, the Sixers will look to end a five-game skid when they take on the Denver Nuggets on the road on Thursday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
