Three Normal Things: Sixers Vs. Pacers
Three Normal Things from Sixers Adam.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Welcome back to Three Normal Things! You should know the drill by now. Let’s get started.
Observation #1: FIRST HALF BENCH MOB! (ft. Joel Embiid)
The Sixers bench absolutely dominated in the first half, extending a small lead to a massive one that peaked at 20 before intermission.
At the center of it all were Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz. Both players had struggled mightily coming into tonight, and each seemed to find a way back to their best self.
Shake was at the center of it all, scoring at all three levels (including a four-point play and a brutal ankle-breaker on Myles Turner). Since returning from injury, Shake entered tonight shooting just 33.3 percent on two- and three-point attempts. But tonight he took command of the offense, en route to 15 first-half points and 26 in total. Shake looked like the guy we got used to early in the season: he dictated the pace of the offense, made simple reads and knocked down open looks. Not much more you can ask of him!
Korkmaz nailed four threes in the first half, and three of them came in a row. All three of those were assisted on by Joel Embiid, who masterfully exploited Indiana’s double-teams with timely and accurate passes. Joel finished the night with five assists, and Korkmaz finished the game with 19 points and six made threes.
Observation #2: Danny Green, a step slow
Green has been a fine acquisition for the Sixers, acting as the quintessential 3&D wing. But the defensive side of the floor is where Green sometimes leaves a bit to be desired -- particularly as a defender away from the ball.
Green was assigned to cover Doug McDermott tonight and struggled mightily early on to keep up with McDermott’s off-ball movement. McDermott was frequently getting open on curls.
I’m not going over the top with concern: this only persisted for one half before McDermott (broken tooth) was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Additionally, Green has already been up-and-down as an off-ball defender all year. So don’t panic, but this is probably something worth monitoring moving forward.
Observation #3: Rest for Joel and Ben!
Don’t you just love to see this, folks? Tonight was a rarity — the Sixers held onto their big lead, and their bench prevented the starters from having to return to the game. Ben Simmons only logged 28 minutes, and Joel Embiid played just 27. Good for the Sixers bench on their big night, pulling off something many prior Sixers benches would not have. There’s your story for the night — excellent complementary play on both ends from the Sixers bench, who will be evaluated more and more closely as the Trade Deadline nears.