Sixers vs. Spurs: 3 takeaways from a near-collapse

The Sixers overcame yet another shaky performance to get a victory on Monday night.

One thing is abundantly clear through two games in Orlando: the Sixers are still very much the Sixers. For better or worse, not a lot has changed. Their success still depends too heavily on Joel Embiid, and the offense — while improved, to some degree — is still a mess of ill-fitted parts.

The Sixers managed to win their second game inside the bubble despite every effort to give it away. The Spurs dominated the fourth quarter, and even dominated the glass despite being massively undersized. The Spurs had Jakob Poeltl, Drew Eubanks, and Cody Zeller challenging Embiid. DeMar DeRozan was the starting four. There is no excuse for Philadelphia to lose the rebounding battle.

And yet, the Sixers’ shakiness was absolved by the heroics of aptly named Shake Milton, who bounced back from his abysmal opener against Indiana. The second-year guard scored 16 points, including a game-winning 3 with six seconds left on the clock. He and Joel Embiid even hyped it up on Twitter after the game, a promising show of brotherhood after Saturday’s brouhaha.

The Sixers were also the “home team” in this game, so it’s only natural that Philadelphia was able to pull out the win. The Sixers will “travel” to face Washington on Wednesday, so be prepared for Troy Brown Jr.’s career night and vast retrospectives of what could have been with Ish Smith.

Here’s what you should take away from Monday’s W.

3. Rotation weirdness

During Sixers Twitter’s scheduled meltdown, a lot of heat was directed at Brett Brown for his rotational choices. He decided to roll with Raul Neto at backup point guard (again), while Ben Simmons played a random stretch of center with five fouls midway through the final period. It’s fair to say fans are starting to sour on Brown, and rather quickly.

I’m here to play the voice of reason. To remind you that it’s important to not get riled up over rotation choices in a wonky regular season game when foul trouble is a looming issue. The Sixers are currently deploying a 10-man group. Brown plans to cut that down to nine for the postseason, and in the process, will probably shed most of the out-of-place lineups.

For those who are mad at Neto, fine. He’s not the most exciting player, and Monday night was not his best performance. But he was solid on Saturday, and there’s no real harm in experimenting ahead of the postseason. Brown is exploring the full extent of his options, and that’s the right move. He never claimed to have the entire rotation figured out after “training camp” a couple weeks ago.

Neto is the 10th man when Glenn Robinson III and Mike Scott are both hurt. Unless you want Brown to shovel more minutes onto the starting five or key rotation pieces in a regular season contest, I frankly do not understand the outrage. Neto is a fine stopgap point guard, and I’d argue he’s even a beneficial presence on offense more often than not.

Another area of contention was the significant amount of time Al Horford spent next to Joel Embiid. Again, I’m not sure where the outrage is coming from. Horford was never going to play only backup center. As long as he doesn’t share the court with both Embiid and Simmons — which he didn’t Monday night — then Brown is avoiding what needs to be avoided.

The reason Horford spent more time than usual next to Embiid was because Simmons found himself in foul trouble. The Sixers’ point forward picked up his fourth foul 16 seconds into the third quarter, and Horford is the natural replacement at the four spot (especially when, again, Robinson and Scott are out).

We should blame the front office for signing Horford, but Brown is simply doing what he can with a messed up rotation. I’m not here to argue Brown was even a good coach on Monday. But some of the reactions to his rotation choices — in a regular season contest dealing with foul trouble and sans two rotation pieces — were a bit too strong.

2. The guard play

This encompasses a lot, but generally speaking, the Sixers’ guard play was vastly improved Monday night. After Shake Milton and Josh Richardson combined for four points on 0-for-2 shooting from deep against Indiana, they combined for 35 points on 5-for-12 shooting from deep against San Antonio.

Generally speaking, the Sixers need the starting backcourt to produce a healthy number of 3-point attempts each night. Richardson is at his best when he’s confidently stepping into open shots, rather than hesitantly dribbling into crowds. Milton is the best shooter on the roster percentage-wise. He needs to play like it.

More from Sixers News

• 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
• 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
• 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
• Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
• Breaking Down Bombshell Report on Sixers Star James Harden

Richardson is a strange fit on this roster, and it is at times a struggle to pinpoint his ideal role on offense. He’s not a primary creator, but he’s not naturally inclined to space the floor as a spot-up shooter. The best solution is a compromise. He needs to take open 3s when they come to him, and a healthy volume of 3s should — in theory — open up opportunities to work the in-between game, where he’s most comfortable.

Milton isn’t the most natural point guard either, but when the Sixers’ only other option is Raul Neto, you have to make due. Milton is a smart passer, he uses his length well on drives to the rim, and above all else, he can spot-up with the best of them. He has a fairly quick trigger and when he doesn’t shoot, the ball doesn’t stick. He should have a fruitful future in Philadelphia.

This was a major turnaround for Milton, who needed to rebound from an abysmal first showing in Orlando. He’s still in a fight to earn and keep his spot in the starting five, and this is the type of performance that makes him stand out.

As for Neto, he struggled massively after providing a quality 20 minutes in the Sixers’ loss to Indiana. Once the roster is fully healthy, I don’t expect Neto to receive any playing time. He’s a smart ball-mover who can space the floor and defend his position, but his limitations have been well documented here and elsewhere. He will not play in the postseason.

Alec Burks is a mixed bag. He can space the floor and create off the dribble, two traits the Sixers need and value. On the other hand, he’s not a great decision-maker. His sloppy passes and poor awareness have hurt Philadelphia on multiple occasions these past couple of games. He hasn’t been the must-play performer I expected through two games. ‘

1. Joel Embiid is at the top of his game

Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice said it best: if Embiid plays like he has so far, the Sixers have a chance against anybody. And he’s right. Embiid has looked the part of a top-10 player, even if his teammates have struggled to provide support. If Embiid is at the top of his game, he’s good enough to give Philadelphia a chance each night.

The Spurs, like the Pacers, were a favorable matchup for Embiid. Shorthanded in the frontcourt, San Antonio’s options to defend the hulking 7-footer were limited. Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks tried, but more often than not failed. The Spurs’ only solution was a steady stream of double teams, which Embiid handled exceedingly well.

That is perhaps the most promising development of the Sixers’ first two bubble games. Embiid is handling double teams with greater poise than he has in the past. Against San Antonio, he made multiple high-level passes to open teammates. It will get more difficult against bigger opponents, but better reading of double teams has always been the next step in Embiid’s superstar progression.

Embiid didn’t quite measure up to his 41-point explosion against Indiana, but he dropped an efficient 27 points and carried the Sixers’ offense down the stretch. He was in command of his skill set, he put constant pressure on the rim, and San Antonio’s defense was helpless to stop him.

In fact, Milton’s game-winning 3 was in large part due to Embiid’s presence. The Spurs defense crowded Embiid in the post. As a result, Dejounte Murray left the inbounding Milton with plenty of space to launch a 3.

Props to Horford for making the read, but really, the shot was a result of Embiid’s unique gravity.

The Sixers need to get better all-around before the playoffs start. But Embiid is Embiid, and if it stays that way, Philadelphia will have an outside shot. Few players in the league can compromise a defense like Embiid, and the big fella seems to be leaning into that in Orlando.