Subscribe
Follow Us
The Philadelphia 76ers' losing streak is over after picking up a huge win over the Atlanta Hawks. Needing a win to stay alive in the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Sixers ran away with one against Trae Young and company.
Joel Embiid led the way with 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Tobias Harris scored 29 points, a season-high, and recorded 10 rebounds and Tyrese Maxey had 19 points and eight assists. Young led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 assists while Clint Capela had 17 points and 11 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.
The Sixers made a major change to their minutes distribution and rode out runs from the Hawks in order to secure the win. Let's break down the film.
5. The opening script
Sixers were absolutely hammering this set throughout the 1st half vs Atlanta.
Starts with Horns Chin (ball entered to elbow, guard receives back screen), followed by a Flex Screen for Tobias Harris, and flows into a DHO with Embiid if neither of the first 2 options are open. pic.twitter.com/ToGYT924My
— Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger) November 18, 2023
The Sixers, once again, started with a play they liked over and over again until the defense could stop it. The one they went to against the Hawks had layers that allowed them to generate shots like clockwork.
Some of the guys changed spots as they ran it but the constant was Embid on the left elbow, a forward on the other elbow and the guard bringing the ball up (whether it be Maxey or Melton) cutting to the hoop and through the paint to screen for Harris in the corner to open up a flex cut. Then, the guard would come back around for a dribble handoff with Embiid.
The Hawks struggled to guard the flex cut due to some poor communication, leading to a few short buckets from Harris. With the help defenders preoccupied with all the off-ball movement, Embiid had room in the post to try to get his own look, which he did a few times.
Asked previously about how he approaches play-calling when Embiid and Maxey can get anything they want together, Nick Nurse said that he likes to get more guys involved than just those two. Opening the game with this set accomplished both. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
4. For the House, for the team
One of the best, smoothest, most effective sequences from this Sixers season to date ended in a bucket for Danuel House Jr. His high-flying energy and season-high 14 points gave Philly a lift off the bench.
The Sixers set up for a pistol action with Patrick Beverley screening for Maxey, successfully getting Dejounte Murray to switch onto him. Saddiq Bey is flat-footed when Maxey and Embiid get into a quick handoff sequence. Onyeka Okongwu has to step up to deny the drive. Maxey hits Embiid, who dishes it right to House for a layup.
House is known widely as a 3-and-D player — which he is — but he's also a pretty good cutter away from the ball. Bogdan Bogdanovic takes a mental snooze here and House goes right to the block.
Embiid reads this play in the split second at which he gets the ball. While House is pretty wide open when he gets the ball, Murray is closing down on him. If Embiid was even a little longer, Murray would be there to either dissuade House from shooting, block the shot from behind or disrupt the pass. The bang-bang nature of this play made it a lot of fun to watch in real-time.
3. B-E aggressive
If Nurse could get away with it, I bet he would play a loop of the common cheerleader cheer that spells the word ”aggressive” into Maxey's ears for hours at a time.
Hyperpoblic imagined scenario aside, Nurse is always saying that Maxey has to be aggressive. He got plenty of footage to show him what not to do at the beginning of the second quarter, where it took Maxey nearly three minutes to attempt a shot.
Article Continues Below
In the first frame of this clip, Maxey is barely visible. He starts the play by passing to Harris, who swings it to Springer in the corner. Immediately after making his pass, Maxey slowly walks backward. He takes himself completely out of the play, which is exacerbated by the fact that Philly gets another shot thanks to Paul Reed's efforts on the glass. Harris ends up getting an open look but Maxey should be spotting up on the opposite wing.
Sometimes, it feels like Maxey is heavily focused on being an outlet near halfcourt if a teammate gets in trouble and/or getting back for transition defense. Nurse has to get it through to him that he cannot afford to take any offensive possessions off, especially when Embiid is resting.
2. Swing, swing, swish
In one of Embiid's best playmaking games of the season, he stayed poised in the “pocket” and delivered timely passes to his teammates.
The Hawks loading up the paint here makes it harder for Embiid to take Capela one-on-one and also cuts off any driving lanes. Scoring gravity like this is not something you see with every player. The maturity in Embiid's game is placed front and center when he noticed Young sliding over to double and flung a pass to Maxey at the arc.
Maxey makes the quick decision to swing it to Harris, who drains the catch-and-shoot triple. The Sixers benefit from less-than-stellar defense from their opponent here but should still try to use Embiid's gravity in the post as a way to get more threes going forward. Just a third of their field goals come from beyond the arc. Only the Detroit Pistons have a lower frequency. To state the obvious, that’s not good.
According to NBA stats, the Sixers record 7.6 post-ups per game, the third-most in the league. However, the frequencies at which they pass and get assists out of those types of touches are near the bottom. Philly's lack of playmakers means it has to get even more creative to paint an optimal shot chart.
1. Closing it out
The Sixers going with no Maxey to start the fourth quarter in favor of playing him the entire third quarter. It was a bold strategy but it paid off for them.
Harris was the focal point on offense for the group that also featured Melton, House, Jaden Springer and Paul Reed. He bullied his way into the post to cook Atlanta's defense for crucial buckets. The rest of the guys came through for the team, as well.
Melton has often struggled with generating offense with the ball in his hands but linked up with Reed here with a nice pocket pass out of a pick-and-roll. A power dribble into the defender and a spin move opened up the big man for a good-looking layup. Reed slipping the screen so quickly denies Okongwu the chance to contest him from behind, as does the fact that he spins away from the paint.
The Sixers took a big risk by not having Maxey out there to stabilize the unit to start the fourth quarter. It paid off in a big way thanks to the contributions of all five guys.
