A depleted roster weighed heavy on the Philadelphia 76ers in loss to Brooklyn Nets.
No matter what they could do or how hard they played, the Philadelphia 76ers could not overcome missing their teammates, losing to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. Philly had to pull deep within their ranks for healthy bodies, even having usual bench warmer Sonny Weems play some minutes.
The biggest surprise with the Sixers this night was the lack of fight and fire from the outset. The first quarter was a very poor one for Philly, with the team going down big, ending the quarter losing 32-15. Brett Brown was desperate to get some sort of rhythm that he subbed early and often, also aided by the foul trouble that Nerlens Noel.
Nothing worked in this key stretch and at one point the Sixers missed 10 straight shots. Making matters worse was how well Bojan Bogdanovic played. He was on fire from the start and ended the first quarter with 17 points. Yes, he outscored Philadelphia by himself in the first frame.
The second quarter was no better for Philly, although some highlights did happen for the team. The first of which was a huge pick on Shane Larkin, leveling him. The next highlight was Nerlens swooping in for an agile putback layup in traffic. These are moves that a 6’11” person should not make.
While the third quarter was still an act of futility, as Philly ended the quarter still down by 20 points, the players finally showed some fight in the final frame. For most of the period the Sixers got the game competitive and gave the team hope, especially after an 11-0 run to get the deficit down to 10.
Unfortunately the Nets then went into time milking mode, relying on a bevy of post-ups for Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, Bojan, all of whom were able to take advantage of the smaller players who were guarding them. The Sixers did not match up well against the bruising duo, with Nerlens (skinny), Elton Brand (short), and Carl Landry (short) having to cover Brook; Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson covering Thad; and Ish Smith, Isaiah Canaan, and Kendall Marshall losing inches on Bojan.
Brooklyn was able to pull away in the final minutes, led by Bojan’s new career high of 44 points.
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Player of the Game
It’s difficult to give anyone this award with the lackluster effort across the board, but if forced I would have to give it to T.J. McConnell, who showed some heart and poise while he was in. Although he didn’t have a huge box score impact, totaling 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, he still hustled across the entire court and made whoever he was guarding work for every inch.
He did work too hard at times, as evidenced by his 3 turnovers, but it’s a shame that his effort did not rub off more on his teammates. It felt as if they would just catch the ball on the perimeter, pump fake, and drive in recklessly into the paint with no plan, only to miss a tough layup or try to dish it back out without a clear look at a teammate.
Looking Ahead
A rough stretch of games ahead starting with the Washington Wizards coming to Philly for a Thursday night game. Check in to see the electricity of John Wall and to see the Sixers try to keep the Wizards out of the playoff hunt!