76ers' Doc Rivers Says Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid Combo 'Clearly Works'

The fit between Philadelphia 76ers All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons has been questioned throughout their time on the court together. With Embiid wanting a more diverse role outside of posting up all of the time, and Simmons being extremely hesitant to shoot the ball from mid-to-long range, Philly's half-court offense has had its struggles with spacing.

Brett Brown had plenty of time to figure it out, but he didn't get the best of the Embiid-Simmons combo. As Elton Brand and the Sixers' front office searched for a new head coach, one of the priorities was finding somebody who can come in and make Simmons and Embiid work together offensively.

Brand decided that former Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers is the guy for the job, but Rivers doesn't exactly believe the Embiid-Simmons combination didn't previously work before he arrived. "They've won 65-percent of the games they've played in," Rivers said on Monday, in regards to Embiid and Simmons.

"So, it clearly works when [Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid] play together. If you watch my teams, I rarely say that guys are a one or two. . . I don't get lost in the position. I look at how many points we score as a team. I don't care how we score. My teams have always been very good offensively. We score points, and we score points in a lot of different ways. This team is loaded with talent. But looking at the numbers, when those two (Simmons, Embiid) play together, they win 65-percent of the games they play in -- that's a good thing."

Over the last three seasons, Embiid and Simmons have helped lead the Sixers to three-straight playoff appearances. Unfortunately, injuries and lack of experience have prevented the Sixers from getting past the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Many have claimed it might be time to break Simmons and Embiid up -- but the Sixers' front office isn't ready to go down that road. And based on Rivers' beliefs, the new head coach is looking forward to seeing how he can maximize their talents as he doesn't see the combination of the two the same ways others view them.

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