Nights like Thursday are why the 76ers traded for Jimmy Butler.
Matched up against the Pacers with a chance to pull into a tie for the third seed in the East, Butler delivered for Philadelphia as Joel Embiid dealt with a bad back and Ben Simmons provided little assistance as a scoring threat.
Everybody has an opinion on the trio that was put together in November and just how well they will or won’t fit with each other. And Thursday seemed like the perfect night for the people predicting their downfall.
Embiid was clearly laboring on the court.