Wow wow wow wow wow...The Sixers didn't the lead for the entire game, until the last second of the game where Joel Embiid took things into his own hands and hit the game winner.
Read down below for a quarter to quarter breakdown and a few key takeaways.
First Quarter
• Tobias Harris needs a change of scenery...To the bench (Obviously you wouldn't do that but I'm currently very frustrated with him). He somehow finds and takes the worst possible shot. Pump fake 3, drive, post up fade. It's been the same thing every year since Harris has been here. Things need to change with him.
• Another game, another team that hit's all their 3's against the Sixers. The Trail Blazers opened this game shooting 6/6(!!!) from beyond the arc. The Blazers haven't done that since November of 2017. Anfernee Simons lit the Sixers up, Jeremi Grant as well. Simons is definitely happy he played tonight considering he was questionable earlier today and missing the last 7 of 8 games.
• James Harden ended the first quarter with a fat donut. He didn't seem to be all that aggressive and looked passive. Only two shot attempts is very out of character for him.
Second Quarter
• Man...What did Anfernee Simons eat for breakfast today? He is just getting whatever he wants against the Sixers in this first half with 19 points and 5 3's
• Here's something you haven't seen too often within the past few weeks. Georges Niang hit two 3's in a row. Im hoping he can find his shot again because wow, it has been pretty brutal lately.
• It took an entire quarter, but James Harden is starting to look way more aggressive. He took a few 3's and made a couple layups. Not like himself to wait a quarter to be aggressive after what we've seen from him this year, but here he comes!
•. Sixers got the Blazers lead down to 10 points, and they just took the foot off of the gas pedal for no reason at all. If you want to win games, you have to be on the gas the entire time. I'm tired of seeing a not locked team turn into a locked in team just for them to not be locked in 5 minutes later. Where is the consistency with this team?
• The defense was just absolutely pathetic in the first half. I understand that this Sixers team may be coasting to get to the playoffs, but this is just bad. Can we at least see some heart? Some effort? I'm tired of talking about defensive effort in mid march. My suggestion would be to stop leaving above average shooters open, but that seems like too much to ask!
Third Quarter
• Joel Embiid does not want to lose this game. He scored a cluster of buckets in the third quarter. One thing I love about Embiid's game is that he can 2 point you to death which is rare to find in NBA players today
• Hey, there's Tobias Harris! He hit a couple of buckets in this quarter but still, he was bad. I feel like I should be compensated for being forced to watch Tobias Harris play basketball.
• Anfernee Simons is just killing the Sixers all night long. Beyond the arc, and he has a wonderful touch on his floater.
• Down the stretch of the third quarter the Blazers started to show that they were human. They missed a few shots in a row, and here comes the Sixers! They didn't get the Blazers lead down to what they wanted, but being down 11 points going into the fourth quarter isn't the worst thing in the world.
Fourth Quarter
• The beginning of this quarter was headline by James Harden and Danuel House Jr. (Yes, you read that right. I said House Jr.) who made an insane dunk and had a nice stroke to his 3 pointer.
• It seems like every time the Sixers managed to get the Blazers lead under 10 points, the Blazers would fight right back and get multiple buckets in a row.
• Here's another game where Doc Rivers waits so long to put Joel Embiid back into the game. Rivers waited until there was six and a half minutes left in the 4th to put him in. That's just too long.
• Shoutout to Nurkic for missing 4 free throws in a row, we couldn't have done this without him.
• I've said it before and I'll say it again, this team does not quit. This team was down 10+ multiple times in the 4th quarter and a game winning Joel Embiid mid range shot decides it.
Key Takeaways
• I'm not too worried about giving up so many points in the last 5 or so games. The Sixers lead the league in defense in the clutch. It seems like they're just coasting until the playoffs. When this team seriously locks in, you cannot score anything on them.
• Joel Embiid is the damn MVP. Give him the trophy already. Im tired of the debate...One player is clearly better than the other. He started off this game struggling but found his stride in the fourth quarter dropping 39(!!) points and hitting the game winner.
• The Sixers lead the league in 15+ point comebacks in the second half. Any other year, this team gets blown out by 30. This team is different this year.