Game 1: Oct. 23, 2024
Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: MIL 124 – PHI 109
The biggest news from this game was the absence of Sixers’ star Joel Embiid and the big off-season acquisition of Paul George. With that much firepower and money injured on the bench, the loss felt inevitable. There was simply no answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted a 25/14/7 line on 73% shooting. Tyrese Maxey took a lot of shots and missed a lot as well, going just 10/31 from the floor on his way to 25. Lillard led the game with a vintage performance, dropping 30 points and making it rain from deep. Both Bucks stars were on point, and they’ll need more of that to compete this season.
This team under Nick Nurse has been awful without Embiid, which continues to be the case. Having no George just compounds that fact, but with Embiid and George’s injury history, the Sixers will need to figure something out in these games. The Sixers have already said Embiid’s days of playing back-t0-backs are over. Not only that, but the NBA is also launching an investigation into his (lack of) participation. There’s not much else to say about this one, considering the obvious result.
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Game 2: Oct. 25, 2024
Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors
Final Score: PHI 107 – TOR 115
While George and Embiid missed this game as well, the Raptors bill of health was not clean either. Of course, Embiid and George are more important to the Sixers team than Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett are to the Raptors, but it’s still not a great loss. Losing to an Eastern Conference favorite like Milwaukee is one thing; losing to an injured Raptors is another. Maxey was similarly inefficient, while Barnes was Giannis-esque in his scoring, with 27 on, again, 73% shooting. Second-round rookie Jonathan Mogbo also had a fantastic game with 12 points, nine boards, five assists, and five stocks. The game, in general, was pretty unbearable to watch, with Tony Brothers blowing his whistle a record amount of times. The two teams combined for 99 free throws, and the game took almost three hours to finish.
In both games, the Sixers struggled immensely from three, which is troubling. A lot of that is Maxey taking a ton of pull-ups and missing them, but the rest of the roster isn’t much better. The Sixers lost Buddy Hield and tried to replace his three-point shooting with Eric Gordon, Guerschon Yabusele, and Caleb Martin. Yabusele and Martin are okay shooters on low volume, while Gordon has been a sharpshooter in his past but is also almost 36. George and Embiid can help with that for sure, but the idea of surrounding Embiid with shooters might not be feasible with the roster as is.
Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports
Game 3: Oct. 27, 2024
Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers
Final Score: PHI 118 – IND 114 (OT)
The Sixers picked up a much-needed win. Maxey’s 45 points led the way, which is excellent, but he also didn’t shoot any better from the floor. Through three games, he is shooting 35% from two and 24% from three on a literal record-setting amount of attempts. When you beat Allen Iverson in attempts, that is some real chucking. Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon also had their best games of the season so far. Drummond is still the same beast on the glass as he’s always been, and he had two crucial steals late in the fourth.
As for the Pacers, it’s been a troubling start to the season. Tyrese Haliburton looks like injured second-half Hali, while their all-in move in Pascal Siakam seems to lack the will to take over. He’s taken just 11 shots in both of his last two games, and he was 7/11 in this one. Siakam is supposed to be the number 1 option on this team, and 11 shots in 40 minutes isn’t enough if he’s shooting well. When you trade three first-round picks, you’re supposed to be competing, and losing to this Sixers team at home is pretty far from that.
Weekly Musing
The shaky start to the season for Maxey can’t be ignored. It’s great that Maxey can score 45, and he’s certainly not shying away from trying to carry the team without the other stars. The amount of energy he has to still drive into the teeth of the defense deep in the fourth and in OT is admirable, but it’s clear he’s trying to do too much on his own. He’s not looking to involve his teammates at all. When he starts his drive, his head is down, and the ball is going up. That, combined with the staggering amount of step-backs and pull-up threes, leads to 29 attempts a game.
Tyrese Maxey ERUPTS for 45 points to give the @sixers their first win of the season! 🔔 pic.twitter.com/vo5tjeu9m5
— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2024
That could be okay, but he’s not scoring efficiently at all. Part of that could be a lack of off-ball movement. When he doesn’t have the ball, he’s not really looking to get open, either as a cutter or a spot-up shooter. Just 20% of his makes are being assisted. That’s not insanely low for someone using the ball like he is (Harden in his prime was often in the low teens percent-wise), but he’s nowhere near as efficient as Harden was, either. That means Maxey can use some help getting easier shots, and currently, that’s not happening.
The Sixers, in general, don’t seem interested in helping each other out; they are last in assists in the NBA. Maxey, as the leader of the team, contributes the most to that. Maybe with Embiid and George in, who can create their own shot effectively, that will work, but it doesn’t seem like a winning formula. I don’t want to be too critical, Maxey carried the team to their crucial first win. That being said, a lot can be done to help Maxey, and the Sixers will need it when Embiid isn’t around, which is often the case.
Patrick Yen is a contributor on Back Sports Page. He has written for NBC, SB Nation and a few more websites in his journalism career. He has been the Back Sports Page beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrick, a graduate from the Ohio State University, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but moved to Columbus, Ohio early in his life and has lived there ever since. You can find more of Patrick on Twitter @pyen117.
Featured Articles
Featured Writers
