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Neither the Sixers nor the Heat had anything close to a full-strength team for Tuesday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center.
For the first time in their last three games, the Sixers had an advantage in terms of manpower. They’ve managed to capitalize dramatically, beating an eight-man Heat team in overtime by 137-134 and improving to 8-4 this season.
Two-way player Dakota Mathias got the green light at three points with 26.1 seconds left in overtime, his only points of the game. He then guarded Tyler Herro well, forcing the Heat guard to miss a hard right-wing three.
Eight Miami players have been sidelined for health and safety reasons. The Sixers had 10 players available, including Ben Simmons, who returned after missing the last two games with swollen left knee. However, Tony Bradley and Paul Reed didn’t play, which means it was indeed an 8v8 game.
Here are some observations on the Sixers’ savage victory over the Heat:
Embiid’s huge second half (and OT), Simmons’ struggles
Veterans Danny Green and Mike Scott, who combined to shoot 0 of 12 from long range in Atlanta, were actually the Sixers’ most productive offensive players in the first half, scoring 25 of the team’s 55 points. Green held it on after halftime, scoring 29 points and completing 9 of 21 threes in the game. He’s been doing this long enough not to be put off by a bad night or two of filming.
Simmons created three-point opportunities for his teammates, as he usually does, but was otherwise poor offensively in the first half. He only attempted one basket, returned it five times and collected three fouls, including two charges. We can’t get much out of a single game in which a total of 18 players were active. Yet, even with his recent injury to his mind, it’s obviously fair to say that Simmons wasn’t close to his best that night. He fouled with 3:29 left in rule and finished with five points, six rebounds and 12 assists.
Joel Embiid took over in the third quarter, scoring 20 points over the period. The big man finished on the inside, emptied the turnaround jumpers, drew fouls and did just about anything he wanted. Clashes against rookie Precious Achiuwa and Chris Silva were clearly favorable for Embiid, but he was still very impressive, especially on the second night in a row.
During a chaotic streak at the end of regulation, Green missed a potential go-ahead three and Embiid was fouled after grabbing the offensive rebound. Head coach Doc Rivers then put up a top-of-the-key isolation for Embiid against Achiuwa in the ensuing out-of-bounds game, and he arrived with a left elbow pull-up to even the game. .
In overtime, Embiid once again played at the superstar level he had reached in the third quarter, hitting some hotly contested jumpers and carrying the Sixers’ offense. His final stat line: 45 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, four assists.
Rivers said the Sixers are focusing on using Embiid in the middle of the ground to make trapping more difficult for the Heat. They benefited from a very game recently installed after Simmons and Tyrese Maxey escaped.
“Sometimes life is lucky,” Rivers said. “We worked on this piece today before the shoot – it’s called ‘Delay’ – where we throw it in the middle, who Joel is, and he becomes your playmaker. I haven’t I don’t know that we were going to handle it entirely for the fourth quarter and extra time because we had no choice but to do it. Funny, we were laughing on the bench – it’s amazing. We’re working on it. today and then it ends up being a savior for us.
Embiid has always had lofty aspirations in mind, both for himself and for the Sixers, and they seem achievable when he plays like that.
“The main goal is to win a championship and when it comes to individual awards, that can only happen if you win matches,” he said. “The main thing that worries me is winning, because at the end of the day, if we win and get the first seed, there is no reason why I should not become MVP, in the conversations of the defensive player of the l year, All- NBA First Team and all that.
“It all comes down to the same thing: winning. The main objective is to win a championship.”
Defensive errors
We assumed the Sixers would stifle the Heat’s offense with Simmons and Embiid in the lineup. The team had a strong defensive rating of 102.7 when its two stars were on the ground this season, per Window Cleaner, and Miami lacked important playmakers like Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. Surely, against an exhausted opponent, the Sixers would look like the team that led the league on defense at the start of the season. We were wrong.
The Sixers allowed Miami snipers too many open gazes, struggling to follow players around screens, helping out excessively, or simply not closing fast enough. They also made several costly faults on the jumpers. Embiid and Simmons on the pitch don’t guarantee defensive success; the Sixers still have to pay attention to the details of this end of the field.
The team’s effort was a bit better in the second half, although Herro, Duncan Robinson and two-way player Gabe Vincent all scored over 20 points and helped Miami move closer to an unlikely victory.
Rivers is not concerned with the Sixers’ recent defensive issues given the context.
“We have a defensive stench, in my opinion, and this was the Brooklyn game,” he said. “Other than that, I don’t know what we can ask our guys right now. Before that we were one of the best defensive teams in this league, and I think we’ll come back to that once everyone will be recovered and in good health.
Growing concern, added protocols
Thursday’s Sixers vs Heat game will start at 7 p.m. and will no longer be televised on TNT, the NBA has announced. Those games in which both lists are reduced by COVID-19 protocols are apparently not appealing to a domestic audience (although this has been entertaining in Q4 and in overtime).
The NBA and NBPA announced additional health and safety protocols on Tuesday. Players must wear masks at all times on the bench, pre-match locker room meetings are limited to 10 minutes and all participants must wear masks, and players and team personnel are prohibited from leaving their seats. hotel or interact with hotel guests. You can read the full press release on the new measures here.
“I think it comes from the outside to the inside, and so we just have to be more vigilant when we’re away from arenas and training facilities,” Rivers said before the game, “because I think it’s the safest place you can be. It’s when we walk outside that the real world enters our bubble.
The Celtics-Magic and Wizards-Jazz games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed for health and safety reasons, making it six NBA games postponed this season. The Sixers are expected to play in Boston twice next week.
It is an understatement to say that the past few days have not been auspicious for the NBA. Fewer games remain on the schedule, but the health and safety situation and competitive imbalances are cause for concern. They remain issues to recognize, even on a night that produced wild game and an exciting finish.
“I look at a young man like Maxey, he doesn’t know what the real NBA looks like,” said Dwight Howard. “He knows about COVID NBA. I know it’s a little tough for these guys, but we’re just trying to keep them upbeat, to keep the mood nice and good. We’ll be fine.”
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