Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Post Game Grades

The Philadelphia 76ers start their season with a loss against the Olahoma City Thunder. Regardless, fans saw the promise of some players and the despair of others.

First day of school: Everyone is back from their summer break and a surprise test is given by the teacher. Sound familiar? It should, it is exactly what happened to the Philadelphia 76ers in their first match-up of the new season against the Oklahoma City Thunder. And just like any test, everyone gets a grade.

A:

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Joel Embiid showcased the potential everyone had hoped to see in him. Yes, Embiid had a poor shooting performance going 6-16 and 1-3 from the 3-point line, but he made all except one of his eight free throw attempts. Embiid was nailing his jump shots, but he did struggle finishing at the rim. Now, that may have been caused by the defensive presence of Thunder center Steven Adams and/or from being rusty from not playing basketball. It had been 970 days between his last college game and his first professional game, so giving his shot the benefit of the doubt would be fair.

His high post and low post moves were precise with nailing a top of the key dream shake turn around jump shot.

He was able to get to the foul line with a shake and bake move in the post as well. The 4 turnovers are something to be concerned with if it continues, however, OKC has a good defense and double teamed him on multiple possessions. It not surprising his shot was poor and he turned the ball over, the guy was playing his first game. Embiid ended the game with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, one of which was on Russell Westbrook. Oh yeah one other thing, Embiid did all this in 22 minutes, 2 minutes over his playing limit. Embiid gets a solid “A” for his efforts tonight and fans are excited to see what else he can do.

Sergio Rodriguez was not expect by most to start the season or even perform at a high level. Tonight he proved all of those people wrong, and yes, that includes me. He ended the game with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. That is right, this man did not have a single turnover. He had the best net rating of 8. He ran the offense at a fast pace and was able to get multiple alley-oops to different players.

When Jerryd Bayless returns from injury Rodriguez will retain his starting position, if he continues to put up these numbers. Rodriguez gets the highest grade of game with a “A+”.

Nik Stauskas was not expected to do much, if anything. Some would have argued that before the game he did not belong on the roster. Like Rodriguez, Stauskas proved his haters wrong. He came off the bench to score 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in 23 minutes. His one miss from the field came on his only 3-point attempt. Stauskas was aggressive and confident driving to the rim. This potentially new Stauskas has a future with the Sixers as a potential sixth man role. Only time will tell if this is the new Stauskas. Stauskas gets an “A-” for his performance.

B:

Robert Covington came in did exactly what he was expect to do. He scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. He also shot 50 percent from both the field and 3-point line. He made both of his free-throw attempts as well. He receives a “B+” for this performance.

Richaun Holmes came off the bench in 12 minutes and assured Sixers fans that they will not miss Nerlens Noel if Noel gets traded.

There had been a discussion that Noel could be replaced by Holmes and this sequence proves it. He finished the game with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 turnover. He rightfully deserves a “B+”, perhaps if he gets more playing time he could earn a better grade.

Jahlil Okafor was only playing his second game after coming back from knee surgery. Expectations were not too high. He shot 4-10 from the floor and scored 8 points in his limited 16 minutes. He also added 3 rebounds, 1 block, and 3 turnovers. Having an uneven game was expected, though he did show some improvement on defense, so that is a positive. Okafor gets a “B” for his efforts.

Gerald Henderson came in and did exactly what was expected just like Covington did. Henderson ended the game with 9 points and 2 rebounds while playing the best defense someone could play on Westbrook. He shot 50 percent from the floor and 66 percent from the 3-point line. He also made 50 percent from the free-throw line. He did not wow at all besides the alley-oops at the beginning of the game and the meltdown shot at the end he will be etched into the minds of fans for the rest of the season. A “B-” is fair for Henderson.

C:

Jerami Grant, Hollis Thompson, T.J. McConnell, and Dario Saric on this tier of grading because of something to do with their shooting. Grant, Thompson, and Saric were being aggressive attacking the rim, but were not efficient. McConnell would have been in the “B” tier if he would have actually made the effort to score and maintained the flow of the offense when Rodriguez was on the bench.

Team Grade:

The Philadelphia 76ers as a whole did play a good game. The reason why they lost though was because they lost the battle of the boards against the Thunder bigs in Adams and Enes Kanter. The Thunder had 13 offensive rebounds and it is almost impossible for any team to win against those numbers. I am going to give a Sixers a “B-.” If they would have controlled the boards the grade would have been higher and they would have won the game.

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With passing grades the Sixers still fail their first test of the season.