Subscribe
Follow Us
A tough road trip for the Philadelphia 76ers (49-25) continued with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns (39-35). With both teams on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sixers came out lacking energy and lost 125-105.
Let's break down the Sixers' loss to the Suns.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 8-19 FG shooting
After a dominant performance last night, Embiid wasn't up to the task of going for another insane performance. The Suns got physical with him and were able to keep him from going off. Bismack Biyombo was his main defender and did a very respectable job on him, making him work for everything. He was far from his usual self for much of the game.
Tyrese Maxey: 37 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 14-19 FG shooting
Maxey's stretch of hot shooting continued. He led all scorers with 21 points at the half on a whopping 8-10 shooting, including 5-7 from deep, and was the only source of energy Philly had. On top of his tremendous shooting, he made some good passes and put pressure on the rim better than anyone.
Suns player notes:
Devin Booker: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-18 FG shooting
Like Embiid, Booker is on an absolute scoring tear and is posing career-highs in points per game and overall scoring efficiency this season. He cut through the Sixers' defense like butter — finding the space to rise up for shots, getting to the foul line and opening up space for the Phoenix offense to thrive.
Chris Paul: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 4-7 FG shooting
CP3 is still as creative and effective of a playmaker as there is. Although he's not the offensive engine he once was and has declined athletically, he's shrewd enough to be impactful, as was the case tonight.
Bismack Biyombo: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 blocks, 8-11 FG shooting
Biyombo playing a very good game against Embiid seemed as likely as a small college basketball program like FAU making the Final Four. Well, here we are. He didn't lock Embiid down all by himself but he was the keystone behind an impressive defensive showing and was reliable on offense with his glass crashing and soft shooting tough in the paint.
Game recap:
1st half
James Harden and Danuel House Jr. were once again sidelined, as were Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton. Melton matched up with Booker while Maxey guarded Paul. The Kentucky guards from each side got out to hot starts as Booker worked his way around and through Philly's defense while Maxey hit a pair of early catch-and-shoot triples. Despite the undersized Bismack Biyombo starting, Embiid didn't take it to him right away.
Jalen McDaniels returned to action and was the first sub of the game, replacing Melton after he committed a pair of early fouls. Guarding one of the best scorers in the game sure is a tough way to get back into the swing of things. He did fine against Booker — committing a few defensive breakdowns but nothing really that bad — as both teams got off to cold starts. McDaniels' off-ball cuts led to some fouls as he looked better (though still clearly rusty).
The Sixers' bench conceded three buckets on four possessions to start the second quarter. Maxey led the backup unit and continued his hot scoring night, keeping the offense passable as Embiid rested. But he and the rest of the guys out there (which included Tobias Harris) played matador defense. It felt like almost every one of the Suns' reserves registered a blow-by that led to a bucket.
Article Continues Below
Embiid helped get the Sixers going on a 14-4 run that was ended by an answered prayer from Booker. It was taken off the board after a replay but Phoenix quickly got those points back. Booker looked to push the pace and attacked whichever defender matched up with him. His creativity and quick first step left defenders in a pick-your-poison situation.
If not for Maxey's unconscious shooting, the Sixers would hardly have been able to keep pace. Embiid was solid but wasn't seeing red and instead called his own number more sporadically. He did, though, play solid defense that was highlighted by an impressive stuff at the rim.
The Sixers trailed 58-53 at the break.
2nd half
The Sixers defense looked anything but crisp to start the second half, giving up points left and right because of the Suns' ball movement and Josh Okogie's cutting. Maxey, as if to make up for his awful fourth quarter yesterday, took it upon himself to get Philly going. In the span of three minutes, he did the following: scored seven points, assisted Embiid on two buckets and stole an inbound pass, which led to a foul from Booker.
Embiid put a little pep in his step, driving to the hoop more and daring Biyombo and the Suns to guard him more straight up. They fouled him often — aside from an impressive play where Biyombo blocked an Embiid jumper and then forced him into another miss. The tasks that they were up to, though, was to poke holes in the Philly defense and make them pay for mistakes with rock-solid free-throw shooting.
Dewayne Dedmon took the backup center minutes from Paul Reed in the second half but didn't do much better. He committed two fouls and a turnover, emblematic of the Sixers still having no reliable option with Embiid on the bench (not counting Tucker at center, which really only works with Harden in the lineup, so it wasn't even an option for this one anyway). Phoenix went on a 17-6 run once the big man hit the pine.
Embiid came back in with Philly down 15 with nine minutes left. With Booker and Paul on the bench, Phoenix stayed home well enough on defense to keep Embiid and Maxey at bay while scoring time after time yet again, pushing its lead to 19. The Suns didn't miss the scoring from Durant and Ayton as much as they initially looked to because three of their key bench guys (Cameron Payne, Terrence Ross and the most infamous Sixers killer, T.J. Warren) came through with efficient games. Embiid checked back out down by 18 as the garbage-time crew came in.
The energy from the Sixers in this game — including Embiid — shows how important winning yesterday's game against the Golden State Warriors was. They could have let Embiid take a full night off as he looks to get his calf in order rather than trying to make up for the loss. Instead, the big man wasn't able to find a high-level rhythm. Since he didn't get going, neither could the team (aside from Maxey).
If it wasn't already clear, the Sixers badly need Harden back. Their offense without him is dependent far too much on Embiid and/or Maxey going off for tremendous scoring nights to look passable. Both stars have to work much harder to get good looks and, of course, the same is even more true for the role players. Although their defense looks better in the games without Harden, the trade-off for less offense is not worth it.
Random thoughts:
- These Suns uniforms/jerseys are sensational.
The Sixers' next game and road-trip finalé is a big one: a Monday showdown against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
