* Tonight on ESPN: Sixers vs. Lakers (10:30 ET)
Roughly 14 games into the NBA season, and a quartet of youngsters in Philadelphia and Los Angeles are becoming household names. The Sixers’ duo of Joel Embiid and rookie Ben Simmons have led the Sixers to a 7-6 start, while on the Western Conference side, rookies Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball have helped the Lakers show signs of improvement.
As the teams prepare to face each other tonight in Los Angeles, many will be watching what could be the rebirth of a great East-West rivalry. For the Lakers, they see this as a test to get a closer look at Simmons and Embiid, whom they’ve heard much about. Robert Morales of the Orange County Register has more and sets the stage from a Los Angeles perspective:
“Yeah, I think it’ll be exciting,” said coach Luke Walton, whose team is 6-8. “There’s a lot of good teams out there, so it’s always exciting to get out there and play. But with young, high draft picks and teams going at each other, I think that’s always a little extra for them.”
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Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers’ rookie forward, is impressed with Simmons.
“Pretty good young player, having a good year, does a lot for their team, so we’re going to have our hands full,” he said following practice Tuesday.
Kuzma also likes the notion that this game will pit a pair of teams making some headway.
“Yeah, they have a really young core and we have a young core, too,” said Kuzma, whose 14.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game rank third and second on the team, respectively. “Hopefully, each of those cores kind of grow and develop and fight for championships. We’ve got that opportunity and chance, too.”
Of course, this matchup also gives Embiid and Simmons a chance to see Ball up close. In case you forgot, it was Embiid who took some shots at Ball and tweeted he wanted Simmons to dunk on Ball so hard “his daddy runs on the court to save him.”
Please dunk on him so hard that his daddy runs on the court to save him.. https://t.co/cMvt5RYiSQ
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 22, 2017
Embiid took a much more measured stance about facing Ball after Tuesday’s practice and, if anything, was praising him as well. Jessica Camerato of NBCSportsPhilly.com has more:
“I don’t know him personally but I don’t have anything against him,” Embiid said Tuesday of Lonzo Ball. “I said I love what he’s doing, especially with his own shoe.”
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“He’s a great point guard,” Embiid said. “He’s been struggling a little bit shooting the ball but he’s only played like 10, 15 games in the league. It’s all going to come together. But I’m a big fan. He’s a willing passer, especially as a point guard. Having that type of point guard that’s always willing to set guys up is always good.”
Simmons could get a closer look at Ball in the backcourt. He said he hasn’t watched a lot of him early in the season but they both have strong court vision and are unselfish with the ball.
“I know he can pass,” Simmons said. “He’s a pretty good player. He can play. He sees the game well, he reads it well, he’s a good player.”
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