The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a good start without Joel Embiid on Thursday night, topping the Miami Heat, but on Saturday afternoon, they were hit with a reality check as the Portland Trail Blazers thumped them by a score of 130-115.

Afterward, Simmons said that the 76ers need to push the ball more in Embiid's absence, according to Tom Moore of The Bucks County Courier Times.

That definitely makes sense.

Without Embiid, the 76ers don't even have anything resembling a post presence, and with the likes of Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, Philadelphia would certainly be better served getting out in transition and scoring that way.

Embiid is going to be out for at least a week with knee soreness, but who knows how long he will actually be sidelined for.

The Sixers have some tough games coming up, as well.

While they will have a bit of an easy one on Monday night when they head on the road to take on the New Orleans Pelicans, they will then have to battle the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday evening, and next Saturday, they will have a rematch with the Golden State Warriors.

The 76ers currently own a record of 38-22 and have gone just 4-4 over their last eight games, and outside of their impressive road win over the Warriors last month, they have had a lot of difficulty beating good teams this season.

Simmons finished with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in the Sixers' loss to the Blazers on Saturday.