How do you follow up the team that plays nearby winning a Super Bowl by blowing out the back-to-back champions? Of course, the answer is to go toe-to-toe with the undermanned, 16-37 Toronto Raptors for 48 minutes and then lose.
With Cooper DeJean, Zack Baun, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Oren Burks all in attendance, the Sixers lost their fourth consecutive contest, with this one being the worst of the bunch. Against a short-handed version of a team which the Sixers should have been able to handle at full strength, the Sixers got next to nothing from Tyrese Maxey and Paul George before Joel Embiid’s strong night ended with multiple blunders.
Here is what stood out from a 106-103 Sixers loss that should sting a lot:
Joel Embiid still knows how to get fouled whenever he wants
It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing way to score points, but if there is one thing Embiid can do in his sleep it is get to the free throw line. He forces defenders into a catch-22 whenever he finds himself being defended one-on-one in space. If the defender approaches him with physicality, he will swipe his arms up at the exact perfect fraction of a second to sell the contact and force a whistle. Most defenders enter the Embiid matchup hoping to establish their physicality early, and he baits them into early foul trouble. Then they are at his mercy, and Embiid becomes the one who plays with force:
Embiid will need to score from the field with similar dominance to return to his place as perhaps the league’s best scorer, and regaining that title is a long ways away. But Embiid’s innate ability to draw fouls at such a massive rate only becomes more valuable when considering he is one of the most efficient free throw shooters at the center position in NBA history. Embiid entered this game shooting a career-best 87.9 percent from the line; he is on pace to shoot above 80 percent from the line for the seventh consecutive season.
It may not be flashy — or even fun — but Embiid’s foul-drawing tactics and lights-out free throw shooting gives him and the Sixers a valuable floor in terms of offensive production. That was on complete display in this game, as he toyed with Toronto’s young front court. He will, of course, need similar effectiveness from the field, particularly at the ends of games. The absence of that might have cost the Sixers this one.
Nick Nurse continues to shuffle rotation out of necessity
The Sixers’ head coach spoke openly before the game about the challenges that come with rotation pieces constantly being in the lineup, and how it is not limited to having reduced talent available. Players constantly cycling in and out of the rotation forces most players to change their roles far too often, sometimes to extreme degrees.
As the Sixers were without veteran guards Kyle Lowry (right hip) and Eric Gordon (right wrist) in this one — neither is expected to play on Wednesday, either — the shuffle continued. So, two-way point guard Jared Butler was the Sixers’ lone backup ball-handler — interrupting the trend of Nurse using lineups featuring two backup point guards at once to lead his second unit.
With Justin Edwards remaining in the starting lineup over Guerschon Yabusele, Yabusele logged minutes at backup center and power forward. Ricky Council IV returned to the rotation in a limited capacity on the wing, with newcomer Quentin Grimes being the team’s most significant bench piece. This entire arrangement once again left centers Andre Drummond and Adem Bona on the outside looking in.
Grimes actually started over Edwards in the second half — perhaps a signal that Nurse is considering sliding the fourth-year player into that unit — and Grimes made the most of the opportunity with a strong offensive burst.
Lowry’s injury in particular seems to have the potential to sideline him for a while based on Nurse’s comments before the game, though the All-Star break nearing is helpful. This would be the fourth time this season Lowry has missed extended time due to that hip.
Odds and ends
Some more notes from Tuesday’s game:
• After a dreadful first quarter in which they were outscored 26-18 despite Embiid scoring eight points in seven minutes and Maxey and George playing the entire frame, the Sixers found something with a lineup centered around Embiid in the second quarter. A unit comprised of Embiid, Yabusele, Kelly Oubre Jr., Grimes and Butler turned the game around in six minutes and change, suffocating much of what Toronto wanted to do offensively while breaking through after early struggles with its own offense.
Butler was particularly impressive during that stretch, scoring eight points while grabbing three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Two of those rebounds were contested boards which led to transition baskets for the himself or a teammate.
Grimes had a strong finish through contact and a corner three, as he scored seven points in the first half to help keep a sputtering offense afloat. The team’s two trade deadline acquisitions did a nice job filling in the gaps around Embiid. They each showed up in the second half, too, despite most of their teammates falling short of being able to say the same. Butler’s 15 points, four assists and four rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting were particularly impressive as he took ownership of the organization of the team’s offense.
• The Sixers were able to carry a two-point lead into intermission despite Maxey going scoreless in the first half. It was hard to believe, but in 17 minutes the red-hot Maxey only attempted two field goals and no free throws, missing both of his shots and only collecting a single assist.
• Embiid had a brief injury scare, naturally, as his arm got tangled with that of Raptors rookie Ulrich Chomche. Embiid was holding his arm in pain shortly before halftime, but stayed in the game and did not seem to grab at it too much in the second half.
Up next: The Sixers are a day away from the All-Star break, but first they must travel to Brooklyn for a matchup against the Ben Simmons-less Nets on Wednesday.
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