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In their final game before the trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers (30-20) took on the Golden State Warriors (23-25). The undermanned Sixers once again flopped after a promising first half and lost 127-104.
Let’s break down the Hospital Sixers' latest losing effort.
76ers player notes:
Tyrese Maxey: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-14 FG shooting
After giving back to the Philadelphia community yesterday, Maxey gutted through sickness to suit up. The array of long, mobile defenders going against him made his night a tough one. Although he did a better job of settling for fewer mid-range looks, he shot the ball with brutal inefficiency.
Jaden Springer: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3-9 FG shooting
There have rarely been games where a player defends a superstar as well as Springer defended Curry in this game. He took the assignment nearly by himself and absolutely dominated, preventing Curry from getting shots and getting a contest on each of the ones he was able to fire off. Through screens and all around the hardwood, even if he had to sprint across the court in transition to find him, Springer was the gum to Curry's shoe.
Springer's game on offense remains a huge work in progress. He still gets flustered when he has the ball for too long and he didn’t connect on a triple. But once he gets at least somewhat comfortable on that end, he's going to be a force. His defense is All-Defense Team caliber.
Jaden Springer's defense against Steph Curry has been absolutely incredible.
That was the first half since 2018 where Curry made 0 field goals and attempted 4 or fewer shots, per Stathead. In halves where he played at least 15 minutes, it’s the first since 2012.
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) February 8, 2024
Warriors player notes:
Stephen Curry: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 2-7 FG shooting
Curry was overwhelmed trying to score against Springer but stayed active in the offense and eventually found some buckets in the third quarter, leading a stampede that put the game out of reach.
Game recap:
1st half
As trades flew left and right, the 76ers played one more game before the cutoff for making moves arrived. The roster is bound to look different after the deadline passes, giving this current, banged-up iteration of the team one last dance. Marcus Morris Sr. and Danuel House Jr. joined the list of inactive players for Philly, though Maxey was available despite dealing with an illness that forced him to miss this morning’s shootaround.
Andrew Wiggins matched up with Maxey and Jaden Springer got the start for just the third time in his career, matching up with Curry right from the jump after he held his own against him in their last matchup. Curry guarded Springer and played well off of him when he spotted up outside the arc. Springer used the space to drive and score on a pull-up jumper but also missed an open three. Philly's offense started out cold but Golden State's wasn’t any better. Paul Reed's offensive rebounds came in handy, especially when he threw one right back down on a dunk.
Kelly Oubre Jr. picked up a pair of early fouls against one of his former teams, sending Patrick Beverley into the game. Furkan Korkmaz got some early minutes, too. The game remained a defensive slugfest with neither side giving much room for the other. Golden State had it easy with how shorthanded Philly was but the Dubs did give it their all on that end, swarming the paint on drives and forcing turnovers. The Sixers navigated the Warriors' screen-heavy maze of an offense with precision and noticed a few of their own.
Springer had played exceptionally against Curry, though he was hit with a foul on a three-pointer, Curry's first bucket of the game. But a wise decision to review the call from Nick Nurse overturned it, stuck Curry with a foul and spared Springer from a second infraction. It took Golden State almost 10 minutes to reach double digits on the scoreboard. Philly led 22-15 after the first quarter.
The Warriors got going to start the next period, ripping off 10 unanswered points as the Sixers' offense sputtered. Pushed deep into the shot clock, they were unable to conjure up good looks despite having Maxey out there. Golden State made it a mission to not let him get an inch of daylight anywhere in the halfcourt — and it succeeded.
The Warriors stayed ahead in the departments of threes and foul shots, too, allowing them to take the lead. But with nothing about their offense (outside of offensive rebounding) working well thanks to the wrecking ball in the navy blue No. 11 jersey, it wasn’t a big advantage. They tried freeing up Curry by using him as a screener, daring Springer to switch or for his teammate to fight through the screen and stay with his man. On one of the few possessions Golden State got the switch, Curry committed an illegal screen.
The rock fight endured through the end of the first half. At the break, the Sixers trailed 48-45.
2nd half
The Warriors threw the first punch of the second half, scoring seven points right away. The Sixers getting sucked into the paint only to flail up a shot attempt did them no favors, nor did their inability to match the Dubs' urgency when they pushed the tempo. Curry made his first field goal, a scoop layup in a transition play Springer was not involved in. He later hit a three over Springer, shaking free on another open-court play to put the Warriors up by 14. A Wiggins three forced a Philly timeout.
Nurse gave Springer a breather despite Curry staying in the game. Maxey took a rest as well, looking gassed. The Warriors continued to pour on the points and handle the Beverley-and-Tobias-Harris-led offense on the other side. K.J. Martin hit a few nice moves while Golden State danced Philly into a grave for this game, dropping 43 points in the third quarter.
The Joel Embiid-less 76ers continued to look like a lost collection of basketball players. For the guys on the court and the staff of coaches directing them to look this inept without the big man is a testament to how good he is. It's clear that his automatic scoring and fearsome interior defense masked a lot – a LOT — of problems. Slipping without the reigning MVP was expected but not to this depressing, massive degree.
In fairness, it is true that Philly is also missing two other starters and some key bench players. But the Sixers have looked bad in any context without Embiid. It's a major indictment on the coaching staff that, despite having some time to work with Embiid-less games and still having Maxey active, the team can only go so long before getting ripped to shreds. The trade deadline should bring reinforcements and end this wretched cold spell.
Terquavion Smith starting the fourth quarter began the emptying of the benches. He made a nice play on a steal-and-slam and did more of that thing where he makes threes. He threw an alley-oop off the glass to Ricky Council IV on a breakaway and Kennth Lofton Jr. subbed in shortly thereafter. Former Sixer Dario Saric dunked and the Dubs bench went crazy for him.
Random tidbits:
- Curry has quite the warm-up routine, which included a football pass with his balled-up sweatshirt tonight.
- The Sixers' offensive rating hovered in the 90s tonight, a miserable mark for modern NBA teams. Their inability to generate threes and get to the line without Embiid is appalling.
The 76ers' next game is on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. It's likely that both teams will look different in that matchup.
