In their first time seeing James Harden since the trade, the Philadelphia 76ers came into his new house and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a huge road win where they never trailed.
Tyrese Maxey (24 points, six assists on 9-17 shooting), Tobias Harris (24 points on 11-19 shooting) and Cam Payne (23 points on 8-15 shooting) had the biggest performances for the 76ers. On the other side, Harden dropped 14 assists but scored just 12 points on 5-13 shooting while Kawhi Leonard (7-16 shooting) and Norman Powell (7-11 shooting) each scored 20 points.
The Sixers played strong defense and operated really well on offense, refusing to let the ball stick. They hit a lot of their shots but their superb flow was conducive to success. Let’s jump into the film.
Maxey makes his move…eventually
The Clippers sold out hard to slow Maxey down, showing an immense and understandable amount of attention to the 76ers' top threat. But Maxey didn’t fall into their trap. He stayed patient but alert and waited for the right times to strike.
On pick-and-rolls, big man Ivica Zubac was brought up to the level of the screen early in the game, cutting off Maxey's space to pull up for a three or get downhill. Mo Bamba was left unattended and his roll ended up being the key that unlocked good shots for the Sixers, even if he didn’t get the ball that much. He got the ball once on the short roll and turned it into an awkward push shot that missed.
The Clippers using Bamba's man to double Maxey meant that they had to guard 3-on-4 behind the play. Someone had to account for Bamba and, in this play, it ended up being Terance Mann. But helping off of Buddy Hield, he came to find out, was not hard to cover back up. Kelly Oubre Jr. swings the pass to Hield for three. The play all started with Maxey's scoring gravity even if he didn’t record the bucket or assist.
Maxey was kept in check on the possessions he initiated, leaving him to get his buckets in the flow of the offense, like when he blew past a Paul George closeout for a floater off the glass. But the Sixers kept finding good looks on top of forcing some turnovers that resulted in fast breaks.
At the start of the second half, Zubac played a more typical drop coverage. Whether the Clippers hoped Maxey would be cold after only shooting three shots in the first half or just wanted to ease up its defense for a little, it ended up costing them. Maxey scoots by Zubac and shoots off the wrong foot to score a layup. LA eventually went back to its original plan once it was clear that No. 0 was getting it too easy.
The Clippers mixing up their coverages made sense, even if the change was to scale back, which is typically the inverse of what a team would do. Normally, a base coverage would turn into something more aggressive as the game went on, making its defenders work harder to snuff out what an opposing star tries to do. Due to poor effort from up and down the roster, neither worked very well against Philly.
When the Sixers didn’t turn to pick-and-rolls, the Clippers switched defenders, which can be quite effective when getting off of Amir Coffey means getting onto a historically great defender like George. But the thing about the old days, Maxey reminded him with a tough floater, is they’re the old days. George defends this play well, in fairness, but Maxey is a part of the crop of rising stars.
Maxey's fourth-quarter scoring (at least in halfcourt possessions) was made possible by the Sixers running fewer pick-and-rolls. Whether it was hunting single coverage in isolation or handoffs like in the play above, they wanted to free up open ground for the speedster.
The Sixers need Maxey to be aggressive all game long but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to repeatedly shoot or even generate assists. Getting highly efficient games out of Harris and Payne was the result of Maxey letting his initial gravity breathe and provide space for others to score.
House of Payne
In his last six games, Payne is averaging 11.3 points in 16.4 minutes while making half of his field goals and threes. Simply being a guard who can handle and score the ball makes him a very valuable part of the 76ers' bench. When it's not Maxey out there cooking defenders, it's often been No. 22 who pitches in some buckets.
Payne is fast and can accelerate in the blink of an eye. He's also comfortable shooting off balance and on the move, as he did when he dropped a layup off the glass.
Attacking off the catch is another way Payne makes himself tough to contain. He's always ready to shoot when he gets the ball but can also blow by any hard closeout with ease. It's not an easy dichotomy for defenders to handle. Brandon Boston Jr.'s wild, hasty effort to contain Payne's shot results in Payne stepping to the side for an open three.
Later, Powell closes out much slower and in control, ready to slide his feet if Payne decides to put the ball on the deck. But he doesn’t because he's got space to shoot without an arm rising up to contest him.
While Payne is mostly known as an offensive sparkplug and makes his most notable impacts on that end, he's not a pushover on defense. He can do the right things in the structure of team defense, like making the rotation to a driver as the low man and getting a piece of a shot. Not only does he get the block on this Powell layup but he hustles to where the ball goes.
Patrick Beverley may have been loved in the locker room and provided some great moments for the 76ers but acquiring a shot-maker/creator like Payne and a future draft pick has paid off really well so far.
Oubre's handful of dimes
Oubre…the playmaker? Yeah! He had a season-high six assists against the Clippers and is averaging 4.0 assists per game over his last four games, which he had never previously done before in his NBA career.
Being a playmaker is something Oubre has talked about previously, explaining how his ability to draw two defenders opens up opportunities for teammates to score. For his whole career, getting buckets has been his M.O. But now he's showing how his ceaseless aggression on drives and unflinching confidence can result in easier buckets for others.
In addition to his assist to Hield shown previously, Oubre again showed how he can make a dump-off pass to someone in the dunker's spot. KJ Martin finished the play with a perfectly timed layup through contact.
Oubre also did a nice job of not folding when the defense forced him to pick up his dribble. He kept his head up and monitored the floor for a cutting teammate. It was Paul Reed first and Tobias Harris later on who provided the outlet and the bucket.
The 76ers need all the playmaking juice they can get right now. Oubre is starting to become a legitimate source — one that, so long as he continues to attack the paint, shouldn’t run totally dry.
Follow Us
Subscribe