Weekly Report: Philadelphia 76ers Hope on the Horizon

(Jonathan Hui/ Imagn Images)

Game 1: Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

Philadelphia 76ers at Phoenix Suns

Final Score: PHX 118 – PHI 116

The Sixers improved slightly from last week, at least picking up a win. Paul George had his Sixers debut spoiled by a classic Kevin Durant performance. With Devin Booker being all but useless and the Sixers threatening to pull away, Durant dropped 15 points in the fourth quarter on 6/8 shooting, ending the Sixers’ hope. He was completely unstoppable, and when Durant gets going, there isn’t really much anyone can do. He led the whole game with 35, narrowly edging Tyrese Maxey, who had a strong game of his own.

Maxey scored 32, and his hot third quarter was what gave the Sixers the lead. You could nitpick some of his shot choices, with a multitude of early clock heat-check threes, but at the same time, it wasn’t like anyone else was looking particularly hot. George struggled in the 1st and 4th, going 0-8 across those two quarters, and he was the one to take the final shot to try and tie. It was a pretty poor start to his Sixers’ career, but coming off a knee injury with a new team is hard.

The real takeaway from the game was the potential of Guerschon Yabusele. Despite only being 6’8”, the Sixers gave him an extended run at center, and it was pretty good. The Sixers could play five out, and Yabusele was able to make them pay from deep often. The Suns left him wide open, and he didn’t hesitate too much. Five of eleven is acceptable, although the 2/6 in the fourth felt kind of brutal. Regardless, it’s a good option for the Sixers to have in their pocket. 

 

 

Game 2: Saturday, Nov. 6th, 2024

Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Clippers

Final Score: LAC 110 – PHI 98

It was an extremely ugly game by the Sixers, who did all the little things wrong, which is not what you want from a team that is struggling without their stars. They turned the ball over a ton and failed to make their free throws. That was especially prevalent in the third quarter, blowing the game wide open. In his second game, George’s shooting was much improved, but he didn’t look integrated with the team. It felt like he was on an island, and everyone else just floated around him.

George scored 18 on 7/9 shooting but had just two assists to four turnovers, which came after six turnovers against the Suns. He made a variety of very tough shots, which is fantastic to see. George was brought in to take a load off of Embiid, and George showed the ability to make any shot at will. Kelly Oubre also had 18, but half of that came with the game already out of hand. 

Caleb Martin looked like the only player besides the stars who tried to do anything other than stand around and wait for the ball. The problem is that his shooting is just very off. His form doesn’t look consistent. Sometimes, his shot has a hitch, and sometimes, it is completely flat. It has not been a good start. Hopefully, it’s just a slump, but with the inconsistent form, it’s hard to believe that. 

For the Clippers, Norman Powell went off for 26 points. James Harden also got his revenge, playing a stellar third quarter that saw the Clippers pull away by 16 when the game was tied at half. The Sixers defense has not been great so far. There have been far too many instances of guys shooting 75% on high volume. Joel Embiid will help the interior greatly. He’s proven the ability to basically anchor a top unit by himself, but that level of effort needed is partially what wears him out and leaves him susceptible to injury. 

Of course, the game’s biggest story was an addition to the Sixers injury woes. The last uninjured Sixers’ star finally succumbed to the curse, with Maxey straining his right hamstring. He’s predicted to miss a few weeks, although it’s hard to keep Maxey off the court for long. Still, it’s brutal for the Sixers. They haven’t had their full lineup yet and are quickly falling into a major hole. It is notable that Embiid was available to play but was serving the first of his three-game suspension. 

 

Game 3: Saturday, Nov. 8th, 2024

Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers

Final Score: LAL 116 – PHI 106

This felt like another inevitable loss, with a rusty Paul George playing alone against a more or less full-health Lakers on the third game of a West Coast trip. It was not a close game really at any point, with very little hope for the Sixers. George has struggled immensely with this three-ball to start the year, which hopefully is just a slump and nothing more. He flipped the script as opposed to his game against the Clippers, finally linking up with his teammates to the tune of eight assists and no turnovers but shooting poorly. If George can put all the skills he’s shown in different times all together, he will easily earn that max contract.

Due to the nature of the game, Sixers’ rookie Jared McCain got an extended look, and he had the green light. He let it fly 17 times, and while he only made six of those tries, he looked solid. He’s had games 19 and 18 points already, which is pretty good. Getting a rookie to contribute right away is not easy, but McCain looks up to it. His three-point shooting looks NBA-ready already, and it’s not inconceivable to see him getting a lot more minutes, possibly even starting if Lowry keeps struggling from the field. Lowry does offer a lot more ball movement, which the Sixers desperately need, but his shooting has been non-competitive. 

The Lakers stars, much like many of the Sixers opponents so far, did not struggle to score efficiently. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were pretty much uncontested all game. No one one the team right now looks like a plus on that end, and perhaps that’s something the Sixers will need to address from the outside.

On the plus side, Yabusele had another good game, and Caleb Martin shot above 50% from the floor for the first time. When Martin is the fifth guy on offense and can just fill in all the little cracks on the team, he looks the best. That necessarily requires four guys to be better than him. With all the injuries and Kelly Oubre Jr. fading, that hasn’t been the case, and he’s had to try to fill a much larger role. With Yabusele emerging as a legit option, Martin might get his ideal role soon.

 

Game 4: Saturday, Nov. 10th, 2024

Charlotte Hornets at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: PHI 107 – CHA 105 (OT)

The Sixers’ picked up a crucial win at home against the Charlotte Hornets. George’s three continues to struggle, but he did some good things besides that. He’s taken the lead ball handler role without Maxey well, picking up 9 assists. If you take away the three-pointers he shot well, his mid-range looks dangerous. He struggled in the second half, though, and so far, George’s game has been inconsistent. In one game, he shoots well; in another, he can’t hit anything. In some games, he throws the ball away; sometimes, he’s dishing dimes. Sometimes, the inconsistency is half to half. Also possibly concerning is that George has had two clutch opportunities so far and has looked bad on both. 

Luckily, the Sixers bench provided the scoring. Yabusele and McCain had their best games of the season, shooting lights out from all areas of the floor. McCain’s non-three-point game was way better than advertised, showing a fantastic mid-range game and much better finishing inside than anyone could have expected. Yabusele shot well from deep but also imposed his will down low, scoring on a number of post-ups. 

That being said, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The Sixers built a big lead but faded hard late, letting the Hornets come back and force OT. The Hornets shot terribly from deep on a ton of tries, and many of those were open looks that could have easily been knocked down. The Hornets outrebounded the Sixers by a lot, which is shocking considering how many shots the Hornets missed. The Sixers also missed a number of late free throws. LaMelo Ball played well, hitting a tough jumper to tie the game late, and ended up leading the game with 38.

Thanks to the heroics of McCain, though, the Sixers did pull out the win. He was the only person that could score late in the game, and ended as the Sixers leading scorer with 27. He even had a clutch defensive play in OT to force a Lamelo turnover. McCain looks like the steal of the draft so far. Not only that, but this was the final game of Embiid’s suspension. The Sixers move to 2-7 but Embiid back changes the entire framework of the team. The porous interior defense all of a sudden improves a ton. Not to mention the scoring and playmaking that Embiid will add. Let’s not forget that Embiid was having an all-time regular season last year, putting up a ridiculous 34.7/11/5.6 points, rebounds, and assists. A record of 2-7 is not great, but there is hope for the Sixers. 

Weekly Musing: The Curious Case of Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond is one of the most inexplicable players of all time. Just looking at the box score paints the picture of a solid role-player. He gets a lot of rebounds, even offensive ones which are generally the most valuable ones to get. He picks up a good number of steals, and while he isn’t a scorer, he usually hits a few with good efficiency. 

The Sixers do not do well when he is on the floor. He is consistently extremely negative in +/— every game, often the worst on the team. His rebounds seem inconsequential, even the offensive ones. A large part of the Hornets’ rebound advantage came with him on the floor, which shouldn’t happen for a rebounder of his caliber. 

The interior defense also looks troubling when he’s in, with more than a few completely uncontested layups per game. Drummond was effective as the backup center for the Sixers back in 2021-2022, and hopefully, when he slides back into that role, he’ll be able to be useful again. Right now, though, it’s been rough to watch despite the box score.

 

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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.