Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Spurs

Three observations after Sixers-Spurs.

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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Before returning home for what will be a five-game homestand, the Sixers traveled to San Antonio to take on a Spurs team they defeated in Philly at the beginning of the month. Here’s what’s on my mind following this one:

Pro: Charlie Brown Jr. comes up big in spot start

Brown Jr. emerged onto the scene on his 10-day hardship exemption contract because of the defensive potential that is obvious when you watch him. And for now, he’s a member of the regular rotation because of that promise.

With the Sixers depleted on the wing, Brown Jr. has even gotten a few starts since being converted to a two-way contract. And while it’s hard to place too much blame on Brown Jr., he seemed to struggle in that role, particularly on the offensive end, where he doesn’t provide much utility. Brown Jr.’s touch around the rim has been especially poor. 

Tonight was clearly Brown Jr.’s best game in a Sixers uniform as a starter, and it might have just been the best he’s looked as a Sixer outright. He was very solid defensively, had active hands, and even pulled off a basketball version of a pick-six at the buzzer to end the first half. 

Additionally, Brown Jr. finished around the rim multiple times after leaving a few gimmes on the table in Thursday night’s loss to the LA Clippers

Pro: Another step forward for Furkan Korkmaz

After Tuesday night’s win against the Orlando Magic, I wrote about Korkmaz starting to take baby steps in the right direction. 

He still struggled as a scorer, but made himself valuable in other ways, helping the team’s typically-questionable rebounding effort while also dishing out more than a few assists.

Once again, Korkmaz was able to chip in on the margins tonight. But he was also able to score on his own, whether he was spotting up from beyond the arc or using his elite pump fake and improved body control to get close to the rim. 

When the Sixers opened the season with an 8-2 record, one of the highlights of the season was Korkmaz being the team’s dynamic spark plug off the bench. He was knocking down his three-point attempts at a high rate and creating advantages off the dribble as a backup ball-handler. His production helped form a safety net of sorts for the Sixers’ starters, who were afforded some margin for error. Of late, the Sixers’ best players have not had that luxury. But Korkmaz continues to take strides in hopes of returning to his prior form, which would be quite the boon for this team.

Pro: Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris step up in the fourth quarter

The Spurs made things a lot more interesting than they probably should have been late in this game. Enter: Embiid and Harris.

Embiid was typically dominant on both ends for the entire game. That includes crunch time, when he cashed in some big buckets to go with a few gorgeous passes and clutch free throws. With the game in the balance, Embiid showed up.

For three quarters, Harris was having one of his classic frustrating performances. He slowed the team down, halted ball movement and took suboptimal shots. But when the Spurs challenged the Sixers down the stretch, Harris came up rather large to help seal the victory. He kept the Sixers ahead with a few tough jumpers early in the period. It wasn’t as sexy of a performance as one might like, but I’m not sure the Sixers come away from tonight’s game with a win without Harris.