The Philadelphia 76ers did what they were expected to do against the Detroit Pistons: win big. The Sixers never looked back after the first quarter, winning 129-111.

Joel Embiid obliterated the defense in front of him, securing a 30-point-10-rebound night in just the first half and finishing with 41 points, 11 boards and five assists on 14-24 shooting. Tobias Harris had a strong game with 21 points on 7-10 shooting and seven boards and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17 points on 7-9 shooting off the bench. The Pistons' main contributors were Cade Cunningham (21 points, seven assists, six rebounds) and Bojan Bogdanovic (33 points on 11-19 shooting).

This game was there for Embiid to do whatever he wanted and for the Sixers to attack off of those looks, though the Pistons offense was at least decent for much of the game. Let’s jump into the film

5. Maxey makes 'em pay

WOOF, this game from Maxey shooting-wise was terrible. He stuck with it and eventually got some shots to fall but shooting 2-13 from the field is very uncharacteristic of him. What wasn’t unlike him, though, was how well he shared the ball.

Maxey's nine assists were the most he had in a single game in nearly a month. He made smart plays for others but also did a very nice job keeping the ball moving. Embiid had a ton of hockey assists in this game and Maxey was often the one who got the rock to the scorer.

The Pistons were looking to double-team Embiid throughout the game and did so on this play after Maxey dished to him in the post. Maxey was going to cut but noticed Embiid having nowhere to go and made himself available. As soon as Embiid passes back, Isaiah Livers has to rotate up to him to prevent an open three. Maxey knows that and wastes no time getting the ball right to Harris for a corner three.

Maxey knew right where to go with the ball when Embiid got doubled. That’s partly because the exact same sequence happened earlier in the game. But even on that one, he knew right where to go.

That’s a heads-up passer right there. Maxey being effective when his shots aren’t falling is a huge development in his game — and one that Nick Nurse recognized in his postgame presser. He said after the game that Maxey “still played a very, very good game” and made “a lot of good reads” as a playmaker.

4. Detroit defense, WYD?

The Pistons were going to be in trouble no matter what they did to start this game, especially with Jalen Duren out. But their defensive strategy from the get-go raised a lot of questions.

Isaiah Stewart guarded Embiid, which made sense given his size and tenacity, and the Pistons doubled Embiid often, which also made sense. Making the rest of the Sixers beat them and going all out to hold Embiid in check is a totally defensible strategy. But the Pistons defeated themselves by switching every on-ball screen. Even if it was a guard screening for Embiid, the Pistons would switch the smaller player onto Embiid.

Staying home on defense means more risking miscommunications and allowing players bigger windows to attack with the ball, so the Pistons seemingly chose to just make things easier and quicker with such a great opponent in front of them. But the Sixers found an easy counter: force the switch and space it out. Detroit was left choosing between an Embiid 1-on-1 against a mismatch or someone having to go far to double him.

Ausar Thompson is having a very impressive rookie season, particularly on defense, but guarding Embiid in space is way, way, way above his pay grade. In one possession early in the game, the Sixers spaced the floor out after the switch Embiid used the rookie forward's momentum against him by looking one way and spinning the other into a wide-open paint. De'Anthony Melton occupying the low man with a fake cut keeps the lane open for Embiid.

James Wiseman, who now has the tougher task of guarding Maxey, makes a good but late effort to contest Embiid. The Sixers superstar makes the high-arching layup over Wiseman for a three-point play, continuing his unreal stretch of dominance.

3. Top pick playmaking 

Cunningham has yet to live up to the hype of being the top pick of his draft class and most likely never will in this Pistons organization unless things change immensely. He can still develop his game and show some spurts of potential. His playmaking will be the tool that carves out a decent NBA career if he can get the rest of his game up to a respectable level.

One thing Pistons head coach Monty Williams did well was use Cunningham as a screener when he didn’t have the ball. It gives him something to do as he works on his shot and puts defenders in different situations they might not be expecting. On this play, he slips an off-ball screen quickly and gets the pass from Wiseman going to the hoop. He pulls Embiid out far enough to dish it back to the big man for a slam.

Cunningham's pass back to Wiseman is so quick — and Wiseman is so long and athletic — that Embiid had to make a business decision, letting the youngster throw one down. The Pistons' floor general had seven assists (and just one turnover) and shot 10-12 from the foul line to offset his 5-17 field goal shooting.

2. Pre-switch precision 

The Sixers were not on their A-game defensively but they were able to generate some takeaways that led to points. Oubre does so here not just because he uses his quick hands and long reach but because he's on the same page as Marcus Morris Sr.

The Pistons ran a play to get a dribble handoff going with Cunningham and Stewart but also used an off-ball screen from Alec Burks to 1) get Cunningham even more space from his defender and 2) make switching more complicated. The Sixers were all over it. Morris and Oubre are both ready to switch the off-ball screen. Look as Morris points upward toward Cunningham and immediately puts his hands on Burks' arms.

Oubre knows he has to get Cunningham and reads the pass perfectly. It's a risky play but because Stewart makes a small pass rather than a true handoff (which is typical), the ball is up for grabs for a split second too long. He's all alone as he throws down the easy dunk. This defensive play was a chef’s kiss.

1. Melton with the jam

The Sixers started the second half with a pretty well-balanced attack. Embiid didn’t get going further than what he already did until later in the quarter, which ended up being his last of the night. This play early in the third quarter worked really well to get Melton a bucket.

Here, Harris gives the ball to Batum as the offensive set begins, which is smart of the Sixers to do given Batum's high passing IQ. They get into a set with two pin-down screens for Melton and Maxey. The Pistons perform a nice off-ball switch on the guards thanks to Thompson's communication with Killian Hayes. However, because the rookie has to stop dead in his tracks to make sure Hayes switches, Melton gets some extra steps on him.

Thompson is such a freak athlete and determined defender that he's not too far away from blocking Melton on this play. Melton and Embiid not getting super close on the screen partly allowed this, though it would have been hard for Embiid to flip the angle so quickly without risking an illegal screen.

Still, Melton gets a runway and takes it, finishing off the play with a two-handed slam.