The Philadelphia 76ers have been rolling as of late, stringing up five consecutive wins after their thrashing of the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. At this point, the Ben Simmons saga seems as forgotten as season two of True Detective.

The Sixers used a balanced attack to thwart the Pistons, with five players finishing in twin digits in scoring, led by the 23 points of Seth Curry. Sixers coach Doc Rivers rotated only eight guys and all of them contributed to the easy win, improving their win-loss slate to 7-2 to lead the Eastern Conference.

When asked about his wards' performance, Rivers couldn't help but take a subtle dig at Simmons. Or so it seems (via ESPN).

“This group is really close, they don't have any distractions, and they play hard.”

Yes, Rivers probably was just being straightforward perhaps. But it's still quite interesting that he mentioned that they don't have any distractions. Because as the entire Milky Way knows, the Simmons drama has been hounding the Sixers since the offseason. It's not impossible to think that Simmons continues to linger on Rivers' mind.

It was revealed recently that Sixers general manager Daryl Morey tried to persuade Simmons to suit up, but the controversial All-Star refused, citing his mental health.

Whatever happens though, the Sixers are looking like a cohesive unit these days, despite missing Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris for a couple of games. They will face an acid test on Saturday as they take on the recharged Chicago Bulls.