Prior to this game, there were a few key statistics that described the Sixers‘ offense. Points-wise, they had the second best scoring offense in the league. They were also shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range, driven by great production from Seth Curry and others.
The problem: they also ranked 24th in getting free throw attempts and were dead last in the NBA in rim frequency. They were living and dying by the three while hoping they could get a few mid range looks to go in the process.
Unfortunately for the Philadelphia, they died by the three tonight. They shot 29.3 percent for the whole game, but it was much worse during a few key points. Prior to the fourth quarter, the Sixers fluctuated between 15-20 percent for a large chunk of the game.
The Sixers weren’t decisive on offense and it only added gas on the fire of Joel Embiid looking gassed, Curry shooting poorly, plus starting point guard Tyrese Maxey putting up his first real dud of the season.
Grades from Sixers loss to the Knicks
Joel Embiid: C
31 mins | 14 pts | 6 reb | 3 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 5 TO | 2-7 FG | 0-2 3PT| 10-11 FT | 1 PF | -8 |
Simply put, Embiid should not have played in this game. In hindsight, it might be clear that Embiid shouldn’t have played against the Thunder on Sunday to put him in a position where he’d be more fresh for this game. He was gassed for most of the game with a lot of the same struggles we’ve seen in previous exhausted Joel games.
Aside from his physical condition, his decision making was just not on point in this one. While he actually did okay when it came to passing the ball out of the post, he was rather indecisive on offensive creation as a whole.
Tobias Harris: B
34 mins | 23 pts | 9 reb | 9 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 10-18 FG | 2-6 3PT| 1-1 FT | 2 PF | -11 |
All things considered, pretty good game for Tobias Harris. He had to be the stabilizer in both the starting lineup and some bench formations, which wasn’t easy given the quality of play around him in this game. There are some games where Harris is accused of “empty stats” kind of nights, but that wasn’t the case tonight. A near triple double is a legitimately impressive effort from him given the lack of offensive execution from other players.
Unfortunately, Harris was the only starting lineup Sixer to even take 10 or more shots tonight.
Seth Curry: D+
30 mins | 4 pts | 2 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 2-6 FG | 0-4 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | -10 |
Curry’s regression was bound to happen eventually, and that’s not necessarily a diss on him. 76% three point shooting in the first three games was never sustainable. He was due for a clunker tonight.
Unlike previous games where Curry has shot poorly from three though, it just never really felt like he could get involved in this one. There weren’t a lot of fast motion/cut to the basket opportunities for him, but it felt like it was due to a lack of activity on his part. The Knicks did a good job of keeping him in check, but a lot of Curry’s wounds were self-inflicted in this one.
Danny Green: B+
24 mins | 12 pts | 2 reb | 0 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 4-8 FG | 4-8 3PT| 0-0 FT | 0 PF | -7 |
Danny Green struggled mightily against the Nets last week but has been better since. Out of the starting lineup, Green had the highest +/- and it just felt like the offense flowed comparatively better when he was in the game (still not good, of course).
Green was active on defense and hit his threes. Considering Green’s age and importance in the lineup, Sixers fans should take that whenever they get it.
Matisse Thybulle: C-
20 mins | 6 pts | 3 reb | 0 ast | 1 stl | 2 blk | 0 TO | 3-5 FG | 0-1 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | -11 |
Coming into this season, the expectation for Matisse Thybulle (particularly coming off of his Olympics Bronze Medal run) was that he would develop as a shot taker and offensive creator. The problem is that he’s been almost a non-factor on offense entirely. That’s something the Sixers can’t afford right now, especially with the current absences of Ben Simmons and Shake Milton.
Thybulle was still a great defender in this one (as he’s been this season), but one of the reasons he can’t play in the starting lineup is his lack of offensive ingenuity and shot taking. Unfortunately, he has not developed one iota over the course of the offseason in that regard.
The Sixers were due for some offensive regression this year, but the major problem is lack of identity. Doc Rivers’ rotations are confounding and definitely don’t help the root of the problem. But the Sixers are still trying to work out the kinks of who they want to be in a post-Ben Simmons (well, it’s still complicated) world.
These offensive issues were evident in the Sixers’ first three games, but they made up for it with hot 3-point shooting. Unfortunately for them, it was the Knicks who decided to shoot 43.2 percent tonight.
Going forward, the Sixers have to find ways to create easier offense for themselves so they don’t have to be this overly reliant on small ball tendencies.