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The Sixers’ performance in their resounding Thursday night win over the Magic would have been hard to beat.
Although they weren’t as good defensively on Saturday night, the team beat the Hornets with early offensive excellence and clocked a 127-112 victory at Wells Fargo Center, dropping to 5-1.
Six Sixers scored in double digits and each starter shot at least 57.1% from the ground. Tobias Harris posted a team-high 24 points, and Ben Simmons posted a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Hornets will stay in Philadelphia to face the Sixers again on Monday night.
Here are some observations on the first game in their miniseries:
Green finds rhythm, Sixers attack keeps flowing
Danny Green had to find his shot at some point after missing 15 of his first 19 three-point tries as a Sixer. It didn’t take long for him to do so on Saturday as the 33-year-old converted his first three long-distance attempts. All of those brands were within the scope of the offense, and two were byproducts of Seth Curry driving her and rejecting her.
“Obviously the key is that we were shooting well because we were getting open shots,” Green said after the game. “I think most teams, if you swing the ball and find the open man, most of the clear shots are a lot easier. We know the worm is going to turn and we’re going to have lulls or failures or phases. where we don’t shoot it as well, but at least we get the best shot for our team. ”
The Sixers made 8 of their first 12 three-point downs as a team, while Charlotte started a big 2 for 10. The Hornets’ decision to play the zone on occasion was understandable given what they were conceding in size. and in skill, but this allowed the Sixers to continue to engulf offensive rebounds and knock down long-range jumpers.
After missing his first six NBA lines, Tyrese Maxey sank one in the second quarter thanks to a transition assist from Simmons.
The Sixers produced a lot of those open looks with a fluid early attack before the Hornets defense could settle in. Simmons thrived with this style and had nine of the team’s 21 assists in the first period. In their last two games, the Sixers totaled 148 points in the first period. Not bad.
“It starts with defense,” Simmons said. “We have to get the rebound, that’s the first thing – or a stop. Then the transition is easy. You have guys filling the lanes, either me, Seth or Tobias pushing the ball, and then you have (Joel Embiid), who worked his ass in terms of being in good shape and being able to run the floor in every game.
“When he does that I feel like we’re unstoppable. So the guys want to play with that rhythm. I think we can. I don’t know how fast we can play, but we’re going to keep pushing. . the limit.”
Although Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has a firm belief that Maxey will be a better shooter as a professional than he was in college (29.2% in Kentucky), a first step important for the recruit will be to enforce the defenses against the threat of his shot. If he can reach that point and become known as a capable shooter on opposing reconnaissance reports, it would increase the danger he poses as an explosive descent pilot. For now, Maxey would be well served by trusting his jumper and not denying too many shooting opportunities.
Harris keeps it simple (and very effective)
Because he usually catches the ball and attacks immediately, there isn’t much to say about Harris’ attack at this time; that’s what the Sixers want him to be.
He dunked in the first quarter by running the ground and accepting a pass from Simmons in stride. Harris’ other dunk in the first quarter was entirely on his own, and much more impressive.
Harris was also a committed and relentless defenseman, finishing with four interceptions and three blocks.
“When I see him doing that, it motivates everyone to keep doing their jobs,” Simmons said. “When Tobias came here, defensively, he wasn’t where he is now. And he stepped up his task – he got a lot of thefts, he got his hands on the tracks, blocking the shots. He did. a huge leap forward from last year on the defensive end. He’s been, on both sides of the ball, a major factor for our team. And he will be if we are to win a league.
Harris was one of the Sixers starters who played a bit more with the second unit. With Furkan Korkmaz still sidelined by a left adductor strain and Mike Scott with a left knee contusion, head coach Doc Rivers decided to use a nine-player rotation and mix more often its beginners and bench players.
Since Bismack Biyombo is the only healthy center in the Hornets’ rotation, and Charlotte plays a small ball when seated, it didn’t hurt the Sixers that Harris was the only available forward on the team. Overall, however, this may be an area the Sixers will look to add depth to before the trade deadline.
Good trends for Embiid
We’re already on the edge of the record broken, but Embiid’s impressive work in reading doubles teams was a big part of the Sixers’ offensive success in the first half. He saw help arrive before he arrived, knew where his teammates were, and generally made the right play, whether it was a jump pass, power to a cutter or a simple dish. the man who had just given him the ball. His pass often helped the Sixers start some pretty streaks where they whip the ball around the perimeter and end up creating an open three.
“For the most part I would say the first pass right in front of him is where we’re looking,” said Rivers. “But because we put Seth over there or Danny Green over there or Tobias over there, they’re trying to pull that off now, which actually helps us.”
“Now he looks in the distance and throws that jump, which leads to turn 3. I love that he knows now, if I can throw it at the first guy, something good is going to happen. If they take it off. , something better is going to happen on the other side. I think Ben does a great job with his timing on the dives. At first he was diving too early and they were able to take him and go back. Now… he’s taking someone along. ‘one with him. So I just love the way we’re doing it right now.
Embiid had a few turnovers on Saturday that he hopes to clean up in the future, including one where overall No. 3 pick LaMelo Ball stripped him after a defensive rebound and one where he lost the ball trying to pass Biyombo.
Another positive trend with Embiid that persisted in this game was his more aggressive pick-and-roll defense preventing opposing guards from comfortably going into threes. It was noted that quick little guards like Terry Rozier and Devonte ‘Graham, who would have been happy to take such shots against the Sixers in recent years, sometimes needed to take a different approach with Embiid playing’ on the touch ‘.
That said, Rozier (35 points) has always been a problem for Green and the Sixers. The biggest squad-wide issues for the Sixers on Saturday were a patchy transition defense and lack of confidence in the second half, with the offense not being as crisp or smooth after half-time.
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