Six Thoughts From The Sixers Bubble Opener Against The Pacers
Some good, some bad, all Sixers.
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.
Well, how about that for normalcy? A heartbreaking Sixers loss fueled by a stunning performance from an opposing scorer and featuring a collapse when Joel Embiid was on the bench. That’s what I call normal.
You never want to take too much away from any single game, but after a layoff as long as the one that just completed, it’s important to begin to identify possible shifts and trends that could be meaningful. Here’s what stood out to me in last night’s season opener…
#1: Let’s start with the good: how dominant did Joel Embiid look? In accordance with tradition, he had Myles Turner in foul trouble all game (Turner fouled out in less than 20 minutes). He then feasted on Indiana’s depleted big-man rotation to the tune of 41 points, 21 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. This was truly a masterpiece from the big fella, who logged 34 minutes. In that time, the Sixers outscored Indiana by 21 points. The other 14 minutes, though…
#2: Now to the bad. The Sixers still look downright incompetent when Joel Embiid isn’t in the game. They are a complete and utter disaster, often as if the players on the court just forget how to play basketball as soon as Embiid takes a seat. The most pivotal -- or, more appropriately, fatal -- stretch came in the middle of the fourth quarter. Embiid went to the bench for one final rest with 8:38 left in the game. The Sixers had a 10 point lead, 98-88. Customarily, Embiid comes back around the 4:00 mark to close the game. But the Sixers could not even last for four and a half minutes, let alone less. Embiid had to come back in before the 5:00 mark had even been eclipsed, and the Sixers were down by two. All in all, the Sixers were outscored by 27 points in Embiid’s 14 minutes on the bench. That’s not what you want!
#3: TJ Warren was incredible last night, pouring in a career-high 53 points to lead the Pacers to a win. First and foremost, you have to give Warren credit for remarkable shot-making. But man, Ben Simmons turned in a brutal defensive performance. To me, Simmons’ case as Defensive Player of the Year has always been far-fetched. This is because, as good and versatile of an on-ball defender as he is, he is prone to lapses when defending away from the ball -- often allowing his man to cut to the basket unguarded or get downhill to the rim. While on-ball defense is more visible and easier to evaluate, off-ball defense is just as -- if not more -- important a skill. Ben, for as good as he is (and he is damn good), didn’t even make an effort to stick to Warren away from the ball. Warren would consistently burst away from Simmons, catch the pass and be able to immediately launch a jumper that was barely contested by Simmons, who had forced himself into recovery mode.
#4: With Glenn Robinson III and Mike Scott sidelined and Shake Milton dealing with foul trouble, Alec Burks and Raul Neto gave the Sixers quality minutes off the bench. Burks, who is a lock to play for as long as GRIII and Scott are out, nailed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc, exhibiting both spot-up and off-dribble shooting ability. It wasn’t all great, as he did commit a few bad turnovers (he had four in all), but it was enough to make him the leader in the clubhouse for minutes even when GRIII and Scott do come back when coming off some strong showings in scrimmages. Neto was forced into the game when Milton could not stay out of foul trouble, and despite recently drawing the ire of Sixers Twitter for reasons I can’t quite figure out, Neto was what he always is: capable. He is a reliable and composed decision-maker who keeps an offense in rhythm and makes spot up threes. Neto is nothing special, but he is a fully competent backup point guard. I would like to see him back next year.
#5: I don’t know what to say here other than… How much worse can this Al Horford thing possibly get? When Horford was officially moved to the bench on a permanent basis, it was clear: the Sixers were conceding that the signing was a mistake, and until they figured out how to remedy the situation, he would just be a great backup center. Well, he isn’t that right now. As it currently stands, he isn’t remotely capable of keeping the Sixers afloat when Embiid rests. If he can’t even fix last year’s backup center issue, it’s going to be even harder for the Sixers to rid themselves of his contract this offseason.
#6: Over this extended break, I’ve written extensively about the possibility of trading Josh Richardson. And right now, he isn’t helping his cause. Richardson continues to look lost offensively. This is coming off a regular season in which he failed to handle any ball-handling duties and was a major disappointment on the offensive end as a whole. On a team with defensive cornerstones like Embiid and Simmons but offensive challenges, the Sixers might be better off with someone who might be a negative defensively but can give some sort of consistent offensive production. Richardson is running out of time to prove otherwise.