The big matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday will be focused mostly on the return of Ben Simmons to Philadelphia. While the 25-year old won’t play in the game, he is expected to be in the building.
The Sixers will have to figure out how to best handle the Simmons situation as it promises to be a charged atmosphere in his return to the Wells Fargo Center.
Another big storyline is James Harden facing his former Nets team for the first time since the trade. He was expected to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to form a formidable Big 3 up in Brooklyn, but it never came to fruition.
Another miniature storyline is the return of Andre Drummond and Seth Curry who were included with Simmons in the deal to go to Brooklyn. Drummond may have played in 49 games as a Sixer, but he enjoyed his time in Philadelphia as he gets set to make his return.
Drummond on his time in Philadelphia
The Sixers were able to bring in Drummond on a veteran’s minimum deal and help him revive his career a bit. He was able to play well behind Joel Embiid and now he is a starter with the Nets.
“I enjoyed my experience here,” said Drummond. “Truly enjoyed it. It was a unique situation for me to be here. The fans embraced me. I love Philadelphia. I appreciate everything they did for me. The team, you know, I miss those guys, but I’m a Net.”
The Sixers trading him to Brooklyn
The day Drummond was moved to the Nets, he was at the team’s practice facility in Camden, NJ putting up half-court shots with Embiid. The trade may have caught him off guard, but he understands the nature of the business.
“It’s just the way the business is,” said Drummond. “You build relationships with guys that last a lifetime so that’s something you can control. You just got to move on to the next and make the best of your situation.”
With that being said, coach Doc Rivers has been keeping in touch with Drummond since the trade and the new Nets big man is happy that they have the relationship they have.
“Yeah, of course, of course,” he explained. “At the end of the day, business and family don’t mix. At the end of the day, he’s still family to me regardless of the business aspect of basketball. I talk to him on a regular basis and still remains the same.”
The Ben Simmons saga/fan reception
Simmons obviously didn’t take the floor with Drummond while in Philadelphia and, obviously, Drummond wasn’t with the Sixers in the 2020-21 season. As Simmons gets set to make his return, Drummond believes Simmons will be fine.
“I don’t think he’s really worried about what’s to come,” he said. “At the end of the day, this is a kid sport. Fans are involved in games and they have their feelings towards players. Obviously, what he did obviously is none of my business. I wasn’t there for it, but he’s my teammate now and he seems to be in a good space.”
As far as fans crossing the line, Drummond is not concerned about all of that.
“I just know I got 48 minutes to play,” he said. “Regardless of what the fans do is completely on them how they want to conduct themselves and how they want to represent themselves is on them. I can’t control that. I just have to be out there and play a game.”
The Embiid/Harden duo
To begin the Harden era, he and Embiid have been terrific on the court for Philadelphia.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s been very good for him belong him get easy shots,” Drummond said. “Obviously, James is an incredible talent himself. A lot of focus is on him too so you got to kind of pick your poison of who you want to try to hang your hay on for that night. So it’s gonna be a tough matchup for us, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Drummond and Embiid will now resume their battles with each other on Thursday night.
“We want him to take as many jump shots as possible,” Drummond said of his strategy with Embiid. “Obviously, he shoots them at a high clip too, but we rather him shoot jump shots than get to the basket and get those hard finishes in the paint and get fouled.”
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