PLAYER GRADES: Indiana Pacers 113, Philadelphia 76ers 101
The Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers matched up in a Friday night contest. The Sixers started off strong, but ultimately fell to the Pacers 113-101.
The Philadelphia 76ers lost back-to-back home games for the first time since last year. The team continues to struggle with All-Star Jimmy Butler out of the rotation.
After a promising first half, the Sixers fell apart for the second half. Bojan Bogdonavic went off and dropped 11 points in the third quarter.
Joel Embiid had a very good stat line, posting the first 30-20 game since former Sixer Charles Barkley did so back in 1990.
Let’s take a dive into some grades:
Center. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. B+. <strong>34 mins | 40 pts | 21 reb | 3 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 6 TO | 13-22 FG | 1-6 3PT| 13-16 FT | 4 PF | -4|</strong><p>Joel Embiid continues to bounce back after his minor slump. Pouring in a massive 40 points, he deserves a lot of credit. Without his effort this game wouldn’t have been close whatsoever. It’s very impressive that Embiid put this stat line up against the likes of <a href=
BEN SIMMONS. B. <strong>37 mins | 18 pts | 9 reb | 4 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 7-15 FG | 0-0 3PT| 4-8 FT | 3 PF | -13|</strong><p><a href=. Point Guard/Power Forward. Philadelphia 76ers
B-. <strong>34 mins | 22 pts | 0 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk |1 TO | 8-19 FG | 4-12 3PT| 2-2 FT | 2 PF | -13|</strong><p>J.J. Redick had a somewhat productive showing for this game. Redick has been struggling as of late, but you’ll take him turning in a 20+ point performance any night. Redick was key in the Sixers trying to reclaim the game in the fourth quarter, but just couldn’t get it done. The team was over-reliant on him, which caused some bad shots. Hopefully Redick can get his elite shooting back up as time goes on.</p>. Shooting Guard. Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK
<strong>29 mins | 6 pts | 3 reb | 5 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 3-7 FG | 0-0 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | -4|</strong><p>T.J. McConnell turned in a solid overall performance. McConnell was a lone offensive spark off the Sixers’ bench, and managed to provide the team with some decent minutes. McConnell had some decent defensive plays which turned some steals and blocks into nice transition assists. While these numbers are typical of McConnell, it just simply wasn’t enough to get the team a victory tonight.</p>. Point Guard. Philadelphia 76ers. T.J. MCCONNELL. C
D-. <strong>30 mins | 0 pts | 5 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 0-4 FG | 0-3 3PT| 0-0 FT | 4 PF | 0|</strong><p>Unfortunately, that stat line is not a typo and neither is his grade. While it is known <a href=. Power Forward/Small Forward. Philadelphia 76ers. WILSON CHANDLER
This is a forgettable game for most fans, and hopefully the team will add a healthy Jimmy Butler soon. They honestly need it.
The Sixers should also look to add depth. Their bench is awful at this point. The fact that fans can write off this as a loss by just looking at the bench is not good.
Exploring new go-to play possibilities. dark. Next
The Sixers’ next game is an away contest against the tanking Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the perfect game to bounce back from back to back home losses.