The red-hot Atlanta Hawks laid siege to the Wells Fargo Center Sunday afternoon, and the Philadelphia 76ers were ill-prepared to withstand the onslaught. A fiery fourth-quarter comeback made things interesting, but the Hawks essentially wrapped up the win before halftime.
Atlanta couldn’t miss in the first half, aided by lackluster Sixers defense and a series of inexplicable coaching decisions from the notoriously stubborn Doc Rivers. Philadelphia righted wrongs late in the game — and came tantalizing close to turning the tables as a result — but a loss is a loss, and the Sixers no longer have home court advantage. It’s clear the Hawks came to play.
Here are some of the lessons learned.
Sixers lessons learned from Game 1 vs. Hawks: Joel Embiid, still good
Despite a small tear on his right meniscus, Joel Embiid suited up and played 38 minutes in Philadelphia’s Game 1 loss. He posted 39 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks on 12-for-21 shooting. For someone experiencing pain in his knee, that’s pretty impressive.
The Hawks cannot and will not slow down Embiid when he’s out there. Clint Capela is one of the best on-paper Embiid stoppers in the NBA, and it made little difference in Game 1. Embiid’s knee could get worse, and he will likely have good days and bad days as the injury lingers on. That said, it’s clear Embiid can still propel the Sixers. He’s an MVP candidate for a reason.
Unfortunately, the Sixers wasted 38 strong minutes of MVP basketball in a losing effort. The execution elsewhere was not up to snuff, and Doc Rivers’ poor coaching (more on that in a second…) meant Embiid could do little to halt Atlanta’s momentum.
We will see how the injury report looks ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday.
Sixers lessons learned from Game 1 vs. Hawks: The all-bench lineups suck… again
In what comes as no surprise to anyone, the all-bench lineups are a problem. Doc Rivers could get away with it in the first round, with Russell Westbrook chucking 18-foot jumpers and Raul Neto existing. Now that they’re facing a competent opponent with the firepower necessary to win a seven-game series, Rivers can not get cute. The Sixers went 11-deep after a remarkably unsuccessful Shake Milton stretch in the fourth quarter. The Sixers are not the Bucks, and Doc Rivers cannot channel his inner Mike Budenholzer.
The Sixers should have a nine-man rotation at most, with Matisse Thybulle, George Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and Dwight Howard making up the second unit. At no point should five bench players share the floor at a given time. Ideally, one or two of Embiid, Simmons, and Harris are on the floor at all times.
Philadelphia’s all-bench minutes in the second quarter basically handed Atlanta the game. The Hawks tore them to shreds on both ends. Those all-bench groups simply lack the offensive firepower and defensive versatility necessary to play competitive basketball. Especially on such a big stage.
Deep rotations and a heavy reliance on the bench are fine in the regular season. In fact, it’s arguably a necessary rest mechanism for Embiid and company. That rest, however, is meant to preclude longer workdays in the postseason. Embiid is hurt, but he played 38 minutes in Game 1. If he’s good enough to go that long, then there’s no galaxy-brain excuse to go as deep into the bench for as long as Rivers did Sunday afternoon. It’s bad, stubborn coaching — which is in part why the Clippers went home in the 2020 playoffs.
Sixers lessons learned from Game 1 vs. Hawks: Trae Young has to work harder
In addition to his shoddy rotational choices, Doc Rivers didn’t do nearly enough to make Trae Young work hard — on either end. Offensively, Young spent most of the first half torturing Danny Green in single coverage. Not ideal! On defense, Young was able to hide in the corner and avoid exerting energy against bigger, more physical scorers. Primarily because he was guarding — you guessed it — Danny Green.
Now, look. You will not find a bigger supporter of Danny Green than this writer. He was incredible in the Wizards series and can still help the Sixers win games in this series. What he cannot do, however, is draw the main Trae Young assignment every night. He especially can’t if Rivers won’t commit to hard doubles, traps, and more aggressive attempts to take Young out of rhythm.
The Sixers did adjust in the second half, and with a fair amount of success. Ben Simmons picked up a couple quick fouls in the third quarter, which proved problematic, but he and Matisse Thybulle did what could be done to slow Young down. When Simmons and Thybulle weren’t on him, Young faced a steady stream of doubles and traps. There’s only so much you can do — both because Young is a fantastic player, and because the Hawks have a litany of shooters around him — but the Sixers cannot let him get wherever he wants for an entire half of basketball. That, as much as anything, let Atlanta gallop out to an insurmountable lead.
This series is not over. You should not panic after one game, even with Embiid’s injury-related uncertainty. The Sixers are more than capable of winning this series. They even won the second half. Take deep breaths, get a good night’s sleep, and gear up for Tuesday’s battle.