Sixers Bell Ringer Season Rankings:
Jared McCain – 8
Paul George – 3.5
Tyrese Maxey – 3.5
KJ Martin – 2
Guerschon Yabusele – 2
Joel Embiid – 2
Justin Edwards – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1
Ricky Council IV – 1
(No poll was released after the 12/16 win over Charlotte, so Paul George and Tyrese Maxey each received half a Bell Ringer in a Liberty Ballers first game.)

If the Philadelphia 76ers could play the Charlotte Hornets twice a week for the rest of the season, I’m confident they would not only make the playoffs, but also secure home-field advantage in the first round. Unfortunately, the Sixers can no longer beat the Hornets to move up in the standings, as Friday night’s 108-98 win in Philadelphia was the clubs’ last meeting this season (the Sixers went 4-0).

The big story tonight was the return of Joel Embiid after missing a game with a sinus fracture. The Phantom of the Trial was back as Joel donned the mask once again during his ill-fated career. The mask didn’t slow Embiid down too much as he led all scorers with 34 points and nine assists.

Philadelphia led by 23 points early in the game, but allowed Charlotte to get back into the game and the lead dwindled to just six points in the fourth quarter. Still, the Sixers applied renewed pressure, stopped the bleeding, and finished the game with a comfortable double-digit win. Friday marked the first time this season that three Sixers scored 20 points or more in a game, so let’s go ahead and make these three guys our Bell Ringer nominees for the evening.

Joel Embiid: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

For a guy who wasn’t supposed to be back yet after a sinus fracture, hasn’t played much lately or at all this season, and has talked about how he doesn’t like playing with a mask on, Joel Embiid looked pretty darn good Friday night. Now you could definitely notice some differences from your normal game. He didn’t mess up much in the interior defense and didn’t record a rebound until the fourth quarter. But it certainly had a rhythm, knocked down a lot of jumpers and seemed completely composed in orchestrating the offense. Embiid delivered excellent results in finding Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre for buckets, and it’s crazy how much the offense opens up when there’s a former MVP out there catching the defense’s attention. Later in the game, Joel seemed more comfortable making his own off the dribble, losing Vasilije Micic with a hang to hit a pull-up jumper, and finishing a handful of drives with finger-roll lay-ups. Into the. The phantom of the trial played exactly the right notes that evening.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Tonight was a near-perfect “let the flow of the game come to you” performance from Kelly, who scored 8 out of 10 from the field. He hit four triples, all of which were catch-and-shoot variations from two Sixers stars (two assists came from Paul George and two from Embiid). Nothing was forced, as his other balls fell in transition or outside the cut (with a nice floater off the dribble to save the Sixers with a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter). With all three stars available for Philadelphia, Oubre seamlessly slipped into the role player identity and did everything you would expect him to do.

Tyrese Maxey: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Tyrese’s hot shooting start was one of the main reasons the Sixers were able to take a big lead and set the tone for the rest of the game. He shot 4 of 6 from three and scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, making good music in a two-man game with Embiid. Unsurprisingly, things definitely get easier for Maxey if he can outplay the big man. While his shooting slowed, he stepped up his game, with all six of his assists coming in the second half, including a great one-handed alley-oop to KJ Martin in transition. It wasn’t a completely dominant performance from Maxey, but with the Sixers having fewer names on the injury report than usual, it wasn’t necessary, and Tyrese contributed more than enough to the win.