How about them Sixers? The surprising trio of Maxey, Melton, and Harris carried the Sixers tonight in a win vs Chicago. Joel Embiid didn't return to action tonight in the second half due to the scoring differential which made me laugh. It then came out at the end of the game that he was dealing with some mild right calf tightness. Everyone can breathe...He is going to be just fine.
Read down below for a quarter by quarter breakdown and a few key takeaways from tonight game at Chicago.
First Quarter
• P.J. Tucker was missed in Monday night's game for sure. He opened the game up with an offensive rebound that turned into an open De'Anthony Melton 3. This team seemed to be locked in on forcing mistakes and turnovers for Chicago.
• You couldn't have asked for a better start from this Sixers team. They started off on a 17-0 run shooting 7/9 which has led to 2 timeouts taken by Billy Donovan with just 3 and half minutes played in the 1st quarter.
• I don't like how many times Tobias Harris posts up. I believe it stalls the offense and Harris passes out of it most of the time and whoever is on the court has to throw up a shot before they get a shot clock violation.
• The Bulls cold streak wasn't going to last forever...The Sixers got their lead up to 23-1 but the bulls made a 17-7 run right after and caught fire towards the end of the quarter.
Second Quarter
• The Sixers went for an interesting look to open this quarter. A duo of Reed/Tucker. It wasn't horrible on both sides of the ball...I actually kind of liked it. You never see those two together on the floor. It's usually Tucker taking out Reed when Reed plays poorly. Definitely a different look that Doc Rivers is trying to put out there
• Here's something you don't see too often. The Sixers actually extended the Sixers lead back to 20 with Joel Embiid on the bench. Also, no James Harden! Now, can we do this in the playoffs? If this team can, it's ring season.
• Shake Milton had a solid half off the bench. He hit a few nice buckets and added in a trip to the line. If there's every a lack of playmaking and you're looking for a guy on your bench to do that, Milton can absolutely be that guy. He's a very underrated playmaker and player in general. He had a beautiful cross court pass to Georges Niang which you can see below.
• I know I've said it before but the Tobias Harris post up play absolutely has to stop. He struggled with backing down smaller defenders such as Coby White and he couldn't do anything about it. He eventually passed out of it with 2 seconds left in the shot clock and Tyrese Maxey was able to bail him out with a good looking floater.
• The best part of James Harden's absence is Joel Embiid's ability to show off his playmaking. He wasn't looking to score too much considering the Sixers are up 30 points but he's looking to get his teammates scoring. He's made some flashy passes and good transition decisions in the first half. He's on triple double watch with 12/7/7 at half.
Third Quarter
• Paul Reed got the start for Joel Embiid in the second half. The report was that Embiid stayed in the locker room while the team came out for this half. I wouldn't have any worries about injuries. It's a 30 point game, and there's no reason for him to play and risk injuries.
• I really enjoy the effort that we get from Paul Reed and P.J. Tucker on a night to night basis. It could be any random regular season game and they are out there giving it their all like they're a rookie competing for playing time.
• No worries about Joel Embiid. Due to the scoring differential (lol), Embiid won't be returning.
• Its time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the bench players get some playing time.
Fourth Quarter
• What's an underrated progression a player had made this year? I would say De'Anthony Melton's ability to finish around the rim while being contested. He was a poor finisher when the season started and surprisingly, he can finish around just about anyone.
• It's Jaden Springer time! I would've liked to see him earlier in the quarter but any Springer minutes is a gift for me. I don't know what it is, but every time this guy gets an opportunity on the court, he looks way better. Hopefully he'll have a real shot at some NBA minutes next season.
Key Takeaways
• Shake Milton is probably my choice for being the most underrated player on the Sixers this season. Something about him makes me love to watch him. That being said, he's a very underrated scorer and playmaker. He hasn't gotten much of a chance this season to show it off but when he gets on the court, he shows it off.
• Tobias Harris post up game needs to be stopped immediately. It got so bad tonight that I wanted to turn my TV off every time he touched the ball in the post. It stalls the offense, it eats up the shot clock and he rarely get's good shots off of it. There was a specific possession where he held the ball in the post until there was 2 seconds left in the shot clock then passed it off for a heave.
• Very happy with Paul Reed's offense and defense in tonight's game. This guy is always locked in. He posted on twitter a few weeks ago that he was afraid of getting his minutes taken away so he doesn't take anything for granted. He finished the night with 6 points and 4 rebounds but the positives in his game tonight don't show up in the box scores.
• Joel Embiid's historic streak of scoring 30+ points in a row has been broken after only scoring 12 tonight without playing the second half. He seems to be just fine, and didn't come back to the came due to the scoring differential.