The Sixers and Joel Embiid had an opportunity to make a statement on Sunday night in Milwaukee as we start the final week of the season. While they did make a statement, it likely wasn’t the one they wanted to make. The Sixers fell to the Bucks 117-104 in a game in which the Sixers trailed by 20 or more for much of the contest. Instead of Embiid locking up the MVP and the Sixers taking the season series from the Bucks, they were not competitive other than for a brief moment in the third, thus reminding everyone of this team’s floor as the Sixers head into the final week of the season.
There weren’t a lot of positives from the Sixers on Sunday night. In fact, Tyrese Maxey’s 29-point night, which included hitting 6 of 7 three-point attempts, might have been the only positive. The Bucks couldn’t contain Maxey, and he was on fire from beyond the arc. But, other than that, this one had a little bit of everything that could undo the Sixers in the playoffs.
The loss to the Bucks was just one regular season game that might not have mattered much in the grand scheme of things, but there were too many of the team’s warts that were on full display that could be their undoing in the playoffs.
Head Scratching Doc Rivers Substitutions
For a little while there, Doc Rivers looked like he was finally hitting the right buttons with some of his substitutions last week. The Harden-led second unit that included Jalen McDaniels, Danuel House Jr, Paul Reed, and DeAnthony Melton could be a lineup with just enough offense and enough defensive versatility to be viable. It was short-lived.
On Sunday night, Rivers didn’t trust Embiid with four fouls in the third period and immediately took him out. The Sixers were down 8 points at the time. By the time Embiid went back into the game, the Sixers were down 20 and in miracle land.
Rivers compounded his questionable decisions when he removed Paul Reed right after he had just secured back-to-back offensive rebounds and was the only real bench player with a pulse. Rivers went with a small-ball lineup, and the Bucks immediately played bully ball with Giannis. Reed has shown over the last month that the Sixers need to trust him in the playoffs, but Rivers yanked him.
The Sixers had the lead down to four points at one point in the third, but Rivers’s substitutions played a significant role in this game getting out of hand again.
Almost Nothing from the Sixers’ Bench
The bench has been the Sixers undoing in the playoffs repeatedly. Over the last few months, the Sixers have usually won when the bench has been productive. To put it mildly, the bench stank on Sunday night in Milwaukee.
- Georges Niang posted a ZERO stat line in 17 minutes. He had 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, and 0 steals. All while being a defensive liability. It was the kind of performance that makes it questionable whether or not the Sixers can use him in the playoffs.
- DeAnthony Melton couldn’t buy a shot. He was 1 of 5 on the night, with four of those attempts coming from three. He committed two turnovers and didn’t record a steal. He finished with 3 points and 1 rebound while posting a -16 in 22 minutes. When Melton is on, the Sixers are almost unstoppable offensively. When he has nights like last night, the offense looks very beatable.
- Danuel House posted 10 points in 9 minutes, but Rivers didn’t insert him into the game until the final 9 minutes of the game with the Sixers down 19.
A bad James Harden night
A game after James Harden looked like vintage James Harden against the Raptors, Harden had a real clunker. He committed five turnovers – most of which were brutal. He scored just 11 points in 34 minutes. The NBA leader in assists posted just six on the night.
When Harden plays as he did on Friday night, the Sixers can beat anyone. When he plays like he did last night, they could lose to almost anyone. Was Sunday night a product of Harden knowing the outcome of the game ultimately meant little, which had him disinterested? Or will the Achilles injury he’s been nursing mean that we could have a bad Harden night like this at any time? If so, the playoffs will be a rollercoaster.
Poor Embiid rim protection
Joel Embiid was fine on offense with 28 points despite hitting just 1 of 7 three-point attempts. He wasn’t dominant, but it’s hard to say he had a bad night offensively when he had 28 points and five assists. Where Embiid struggled was on the defensive end. Embiid’s defense has been elite lately, but it wasn’t on Sunday night. He was late to provide help and got beat by some weak shots from Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. Lopez had 21 points, and Portis added 18.
Embiid had a chance to put a stamp on his MVP candidacy last night, but he was just okay. We’ve seen him be dominant enough this year to know we’ll be treated to some classics in the playoffs. What we saw again on Sunday night, though, was that even when Embiid is very good by most people’s standards, the Sixers are very beatable. He will need to be dominant night in and night out in the playoffs.
Tobias Harris missing in action
To round out a bad night, the Sixers’ max contract small forward was missing in action. Harris returned to action after missing Friday’s game with a non-COVID-related illness, so he could have just not been 100%, but he suited up and only gave the Sixers 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The Sixers can’t have nights like that from Harris in playoffs if they want to advance past the second round.
Again, it was all just one game, but add it all up, and it was all one big reminder of what could bring this team down. None of the items listed above were aberrations. They are all deficiencies we’ve seen throughout the season that the Sixers will have to overcome in the playoffs to avoid another second-round exit. They can probably survive one or two of the above on any given night. But they can’t survive them all happening on the same night.
