Sixers-Clippers Matchup Proved Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons Can Coexist

The Sixers pulled off a tough victory against the Clippers on Tuesday with a solid team effort led by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Don't let the national analysts or the local radio talk fool you into thinking the duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons is a lost cause. For sure, these two haven't exactly been on the same page in the past. And because of that, it has caused some uncomfortable conversations regarding trading each player at a point in time.

But just because it hasn't worked to perfection in the past, doesn't mean it never will. Remember, Ben Simmons is just 23-years-old playing in his third season in the NBA. Embiid is 25 and playing in his fourth. As the two shared the court during the past two seasons, they helped contribute to two playoff series wins.

This year, the Sixers are on pace to make it to the postseason once again. While they have tons of help on the roster from Josh Richardson, to Tobias Harris, and Al Horford, many understand that it ultimately comes down to the two young superstars, Embiid and Simmons.

As of late, Sixers fans, national analysts, and even local sports talk personalities have helped divide many spectators' thought processes on the Sixers' two young superstars. One side wants to keep Joel Embiid and trade Simmons away because of his lack of a jump shot.

Others were willing to sell Embiid while he's healthy and the value is high to build around Ben Simmons for the future. In all reality, neither will happen. Instead of giving up on the potential of the duo -- Brett Brown and the Sixers are doing all they can to figure out how to make this work. And on Tuesday, he might've found the solution.

Al Horford didn't appear in the starting lineup for the Sixers-Clippers matchup. Instead, he came off the bench. And with the addition of two perimeter threats, both Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid noticed better spacing on the floor together.

It was evident on tape that Embiid and Simmons coexisted much better on Tuesday, but the proof is in the numbers too. Both Simmons and Embiid put up 26 points on Tuesday en route to a 110-103 win over the Western Conference's third-best team, the Clippers.

Following the game, Sixers' head coach Brett Brown believed the recent changes created a favorable outcome for his young stars. "The way that we played [the Clippers] helped them," Brown stated following the victory. "Ben wasn't always the point guard. When he was, we put him in a lot of deep pick and rolls. When he wasn't, [Josh Richardson] or Alec [Burks] was and we could pick and pop, duck Joel in and go high-low stuff."

The results of Brown's new adjustments left there much to be desired about this superstar duo as this is only the beginning. "They coexisted as well as I have seen them coexist. They played together at a very high level -- a dominating physical way. I think it was the versatility of Ben [Simmons] not being the point guard," Brown said.

Many believed Simmons had it in his head that he needed to be the point guard on the Sixers for everything to click. However, the third-year Sixer debunked that thought process as he's convinced this change can be useful moving forward.

"I just love being a player," Simmons said when asked about not having the opportunity to run the point all the time anymore. "I don't really put myself in one position because I'm so versatile and able to play so many positions, and guard one through five."

Now that he has seen what could be, how does Simmons feel about his evergrowing on-court relationship with Embiid? "I feel like the chemistry was just good," he claimed. "Me finding him, him being a force down low and getting open, it just worked well tonight. I think we did a good job of finding mismatches."

Embiid, who hasn't shied away from expressing his frustrations with the Sixers' offense this season was singing a different tune on Tuesday night. "You know, we're getting better, and we're only going to get better," the Sixers' center confidently stated in regards to his on-court relationship with Simmons.

"We still have a lot of potential, so I'm excited about how much better we're going to get. But it's not [all] about us. We've got great teammates that can help make the game easier for us. He's one of them so we just gotta keep trusting our teammates trying to get better."

Since the sample size is small, nobody on the team believes this is the end-all, be-all, and everything is figured out. At the least, though, the Sixers have a good idea of what they can look like when they return from the All-Star break next week. With 27 games left on the schedule before playoffs, the 76ers have plenty of time to work on polishing their game with the new personnel and rotations that have been utilized on Tuesday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_