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Following the latest unfortunate injury news regarding Joel Embiid and Jared McCain, the Philadelphia 76ers (8-16) played the Charlotte Hornets (7-19). The Sixers played with their food long enough for the Hornets to chop off most of a 21-point lead. However, they managed to hang on for the victory, 121-108.
LaMelo Ball returned from a left calf injury to help a competitive Hornets team whose health is starting to look up. The same can’t be said for the Sixers, who were also without Caleb Martin and Adem Bona. It was up to Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to get the 76ers going with Embiid and McCain out of commission — and they got the memo, leading Philly to a new season-high in points.
It's nice to still have two stars
Subpar shooting has dogged Maxey and George all season long. Both have been too dependent on jumpers to get by and now are without the 76ers' primary offensive engine and one of their best floor spacers. They stuck with that recipe in this game but they managed to get cooking.
The two stars combined for 27 of the Sixers' 31 first-quarter points. Maxey buried three of his first four shots, which included a pair of treys that punished the sloven defense from the Hornets. George's slick shooting helped propel Philly in the early goings. They each totaled a hat trick of three-balls in the opening period and shot the ball really efficiently.
George — who passed Jason Terry on the all-time list in three-pointers made, moving up to 10th — played at his own, controlled pace that the Hornets couldn’t shake him out of. His hot shooting commanded the attention of all five defenders, who could only watch as he carved up space to operate. Charlotte had to start keying on him further, which naturally opened up passing windows to teammates.
PG-8 can create these tough looks for himself as easily as anyone but his lack of consistent rim pressure means he often has to live or die by them. There are plenty of consistencies to his game — his sound defense, his ability to make plays when he gets doubled and the occasional head-scratching pass — but oftentimes, it's as simple as whether the shots go down that determines how successful his performance is.
While George notched a new career feat and his first 30-piece with the Sixers on top of flashing his playmaking sense with eight assists, Maxey had a brutal time trying to score in the paint, throwing up miss after miss. But that’s what a high volume of threes and free throws can help cover up. Maxey shot 6-12 from downtown and 10-13 from the stripe on his way to his second 40-point game of the season. He also notched four steals for the third time in 2024-25.
The Sixers have wanted to make Maxey a point guard, something he is capable of doing but not where he does his best work. But that’s what he'll have to learn to do without two of the three teammates who can help set him up for looks. Trial by fire is the team's best bet for him to improve and for it to somewhat dependably function on offense.
Maxey and George may not pursue 30 points every night with Embiid and McCain out but they definitely need to provide the bulk of the Sixers' advantages and points.
Doing enough on defense
The 76ers' immense struggles on offense have covered up their success on the other side of the ball. Without their defensive centerpiece for most of the season, they've managed to post a defensive rating of 113.3, which is just above the league average. Especially with McCain sidelined for what could be a long time and Embiid out for at least another week, the Sixers needed to lean into their strengths as much as possible.
To start out, the 76ers were not very sticky around screens nor were they super adept at keeping them out of the paint or disciplined in not falling for shot fakes. But they were active enough with their hands to gunk up Charlotte's offense, which was particularly rough without Ball.
With Ball in the game, the Sixers' defense was pressed much harder. The star point guard cut into his team's deficit with a triple and two consecutive lobs to Miles Bridges, one of which he started by stealing a pass from George. The best defense is indeed good offense but it's also true that bad offense makes defense a lot harder.
Both teams sharpened up at halftime but the 76ers got out ahead even more by winning the third quarter 41-30. Then they got a taste of the other side of a bad run when the Hornets scored 10 unanswered points. The Sixers turned the ball over sickeningly often, igniting some buzz from the Spectrum Center crowd.
Then, they allowed just three Charlotte points in a span of over three minutes and regained control of the game. They may not have the makings of a defensive juggernaut but when they can only get reliable offense from two active players, the whole must be greater than the sum of the parts.
Philly's calling card on defense is its ability to turn its opponents over, forcing its opposition to commit the third most turnovers per 100 possessions. The Hornets coughed the ball up 20 times, though the Sixers evened that out with 21 of their own blunders.
More injuries mean more new lineups
The 76ers had to adjust in a major way with two of their top players and another key rotation player out. They’ve had plenty of prior experience doing so this season, at least.
KJ Martin got the start in the frontcourt alongside Andre Drummond, giving the Sixers a little extra size with Kelly Oubre Jr. sliding up to the two-guard spot. Both of the bigs got into some foul trouble. Drummond cleaned the glass well (15 rebounds in 28 minutes) and notched some stocks but this game was otherwise not notable for either.
Oubre, despite shooting poorly from the arc and the foul line, gave the Sixers some great minutes against his former squad. He rebounded well, provided one of his best passing games of the season and shot well inside the arc. The beautiful assist he dished to Drummond off of the short roll showed precisely where he can shine on offense: as a play finisher with a focus on getting downhill.
throw down drum 🥁🥁 pic.twitter.com/cc0M0WSGxf
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 17, 2024
Eric Gordon got his first minutes this month, a major fall from grace for someone who opened the season as a starter. He started to get into a rhythm in the third quarter, scoring nine points on three shots, and played 26 minutes.
Nick Nurse played a fringe playoff-size rotation, deploying only nine players. Reggie Jackson was the only non-two-way player to spend the whole game on the bench. The Sixers may start activating some of their two-ways in order to have more than just 10 available players.
The 76ers and Hornets face each other again on Friday in Philadelphia.
