As the Milwaukee Bucks caught fire in the opening minutes, they never looked back. A game highlighted by Giannis Antetokounmpo and his near perfect supporting cast. Joel Embiid put up 28 points but foul trouble kept him from showing his dominate self. A night to forget for a majority of this Sixers' team.
Read down below for some positive and negative takeaways.
Positive takeaways
• Paul Reed's ability to rebound the ball on the offensive end has been a massive upgrade for the Sixers since Reed started getting playing time over Harrell. He has great instincts on the offensive glass, and paired with ridiculous athleticism, he is a machine.
• I'm a big fan of when P.J. Tucker has a quick trigger from the corner. he went 1-2 in the third quarter but the no hesitation 3 is something I personally love.
• Tyrese Maxey is going to be this teams X-factor in the playoffs, this guy can turn it up at anytime. He had one of his best defensive plays of the season against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Khris Middleton looked lost on the floor when given the assignment to guard Maxey.
• I really like what Danuel House Jr. brings to the table. He wasn't given a chance until the middle of the 4th quarter. He ended the night with 10 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and a +/- of +10. He's been impressive every time he's been getting playing time opportunities. Rivers should be giving more looks for him but that is not the case in big games.
Negative takeaways
• The Milwaukee Bucks started off tonight's game shooting 10-11 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. The Sixers defense wasn't even bad enough to take note of. The Bucks have been making some ridiculous shots to start the game, and don't seem to miss.
• James Harden not having a single shot attempt in the first quarter is not what this team is looking for. This team is at its best when you see an aggressive Harden on the floor looking to get a bucket every time down the floor.
• The Sixers offense when they go cold may be the worst offense in the entire league. Doc Rivers isn't running any sets or plays. It's just dribble handoff after dribble handoff and throw up a bad shot at the end of the shot clock. There needs to be more consistency and a sense of urgency on the offensive end.
• The Sixers looked a lot better offensively while Tobias Harris was out with illness the other night against Toronto. He had 4 points at halftime shooting 2-4 from the field and ended the game with a whopping 6 points. The only word I can use to describe his performance tonight is...pathetic.
• Doc Rivers absolutely needs to stagger Harden & Embiid's minutes. It's unacceptable for both of them to sit on the bench while the Bucks extend their lead. I really hope this isn't the case come playoff time, or this team will be ending their season early.
• Doc Rivers is known for his "head scratching" decisions, and we saw just that tonight. Paul Reed was having one of the best games of the season and he pulls him to let Tucker play the backup center position. He was one of the only bench guys giving you some real production and you pulled him for no reason. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't slow down an entire offense...That is a team wide issue.
• A night to forget for James Harden...He ended the night with 11 points on 4-9 shooting and had 5 turnovers. Not what this team is looking for come playoff time. This guy needs to step it up, big time. He looked too "casual" out on the floor tonight and from my eyes, didn't think of this as a big game at all. Jrue Holiday could see the behind the back passes from a mile away and he wouldn't stop attempting them.
• I was pretty disappointed with the defensive schemes to try and slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo. Too many possessions where McDaniels, House Jr., and other smaller players we're given the assignment to guard Giannis. He would do his same old thing...The run & dunk strategy. I have to give some praise to Giannis, because the Sixers couldn't guard it.
• The Sixers cannot be blown out in the non Embiid minutes. Joel Embiid left the game with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter down 8 points. He checked back into the game with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter and they're down 20. The game is basically over at that point. You need to make Embiid's job easier
• I didn't think this was a good Joel Embiid game. If I had to grade it, I would have given it a C. He didn't Punish Brook Lopez nearly enough, took too many 3's (1-7), and flat out didn't look like himself. If he's looking to make a deep playoff run, or even win the MVP award, he absolutely needs to start punishing good defensive bigs because he has that ability.