Sixers vs. Spurs: 3 things to watch for as Sixers look to rebound

1. The non-Embiid minutes

The Sixers barely squeezed a good performance out of anyone not named Joel Embiid in Saturday’s loss. Tobias Harris scored a helpful 30 points, but he took 29 shots and was far from perfect. Embiid carried the Sixers at every turn, and Philadelphia could not reward him with a win.

In case you need a tangible example of Embiid’s dominance and the incompetence of those around him…

He scored 41 points, collected 21 rebounds, registered four blocks, and was +21 in a game the Sixers lost by six. In 14 minutes without Embiid, the Sixers were outscored by 27 points. You don’t need a master’s degree in statistics to recoil at that ratio.

In fact, Embiid’s individual statistics took a substantial leap Saturday. He did everything in his power to hand the Sixers a victory, but he teammates could not deliver.

This is nothing new. The Sixers have been horrendous in non-Embiid minutes ever since he stepped foot on an NBA court. This season, however, is more egregious than even before. The Sixers have Al Horford on a four-year, $109 million contract, and still can’t figure out how to manage the few stretches a game when Embiid sits.

Part of this is on Horford, who needs to protect the rim better and find himself offensively. Part of this is on the other starters — Harris, Richardson, Simmons especially — who should be more than capable of piloting a successful unit when Embiid is on the bench. And part of it inevitably falls on Brett Brown, whose lack of creativity is at times frustrating.

The Sixers need to at least compete in the non-Embiid minutes. Even if they lose the non-Embiid minutes, they can’t lose them by 27 freakin’ points. The second unit must also improve. No one off the bench, aside from Raul Neto, was remotely passable on Saturday. That can’t happen on a team trying to compete.

Monday night provides an opportunity for renewed spirit and optimism around the Sixers. It’s a “home game,” and the Spurs are both shorthanded and undersized. But Philadelphia must deliver.