The Philadelphia 76ers started a small road trip off in Milwaukee to face the Bucks, and couldn’t come away with a win, losing 91-87 in a nail-biter.
The Sixers fell 0-4 to the Bucks Wednesday night in a very hard fought battle. The theme of the season for the team has been taking lessons and small wins away even in their losses, and the same will be the case after this game. Overall, there were a lot of positive things, but there were also a ton of negatives.
In a game close to Jahlil Okafor‘s hometown, he was cheered on by his family, and scored 21 points to add to his great rookie showing this season. He continues to show he’s a player worthy of rookie of the year consideration.
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The game came down to the final minute, and the Sixers had a chance to get a shot up to keep themselves in the game, but they turned the ball over (a common theme of the game) and it was the nail in the coffin for them.
Overall, the play was just plain sloppy. Watching the game was pretty hard, and it didn’t help that it was a pretty physical game. Turnovers would be an issue for the Sixers yet again, as they finished with 18 of them, eight more than the Bucks.
The team had trouble guarding some of the Bucks’ best players. Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Greg Monroe combined for 56 points and 16 rebounds. Miles Plumlee had two blocks on the game for the Bucks. It seemed to be a fairly evenly matched game, for the most part, but the Bucks made some much wiser decisions. Both teams are young, and it looks like this will be a fun matchup to watch from now on.
Luckily, the Sixers did show some life in categories they have been struggling in before. They had plenty of assists (23), fast break points (18), and pushed the pace a lot. This can all be credited to the leadership of T.J. McConnell.
McConnell is a player that has had to work for everything he’s gotten this season, but he has worked incredibly hard. From being a “maybe” in training camp, to being the starter at the point for the Sixers, this hidden treasure keeps showing Sixers fans why he deserves to be on the team, and why he should have been drafted in the first place.
T.J. ended the game with seven points, 12 assists, nine rebounds, and just one turnover. That makes it 24 assists and one turnover for him in the past two games. He deserves to start, and he showed that against the Jazz. You really can’t say enough about him. He lost the ball on one occasion, but scrapped to get it back, and then got up to make a great pass. He’s a heads up guy looking out for his teammates, and even when he’s on the bench he’s present, encouraging his peers. He’s a great steal for the team, and it’s going to be tough to see him have minutes cut (if that is the case) when Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall come back.
On the other hand the Sixers are losing faith in Isaiah Canaan, who has scored, but failed to really assist. Against the Bucks he was given significantly less minutes and that may be the theme as long as T.J. is playing well.
The Sixers also threw Phil Pressey into the mix late in the fourth quarter–which seemed like an odd move since he didn’t know the playbook and the Sixers were still very much in the game–and he played decently. Canaan keeps seeming like a bad idea the more it’s thought about.
Other things to take from the game
- Jah looks better with double teams as the games go on.
- T.J. would have even more assists if his teammates capitalized on available plays.
- There are a lot of missed opportunities for the Sixers, and the shot selection isn’t great.
- Okafor had trouble guarding Greg Monroe without fouling him.
- Miles Plume was physical defending Okafor, and was clearly frustrating him. Okafor was not as physically dominating in this game as he was against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Sixers continue their road trip facing the Cavs for the second time this week on Friday, and then return home Saturday to face the Orlando Magic, a game where they just might get their first win. For now, the Sixers remain winless.