Ugly elements of Sixers’ loss to Spurs
- The frayed roster fringe
Let’s keeping talking about the bench. All summer, we’ve talked about how great it is to have options. Real depth — 10, 11, 12, 13-deep. Well, the Sixers are only going nine-deep right now. One of the players regularly included in that nine (Harrell) has been played off the floor on every occasion. Matisse Thybulle, one of those coveted backend options, made a three-minute appearance. He dropped a pass that led to transition points for San Antonio and missed his only shot before being yanked. How many options do the Sixers really have?
It’s already past time to play Paul Reed.
- The absence of urgency
Watching from home, it felt like the Sixers entered this game with no real urgency. It’s way too early in the season to genuinely panic, but it’s also completely embarrassing to lose this game after opening the season 0-2 on national television. The Celtics and Bucks are great teams — those are defensible losses. This one is not. The Spurs are young and not very good. This was at home, in your own building down the street from the Phillies’ pursuit of a World Series appearance. You have to show more fight and competitive spirit than this. It’s not a good look.
Last season, the Sixers’ propensity to fold under pressure — their complete lack of fight or edge on the biggest stage — is what sunk the ship. If this team can’t shake that reputation then we might be entering Sisyphus territory as a fandom.
I’m not panicking yet. We have never once seen the finalized version of an NBA team in October. So much can and will change between now and the playoffs. And yes, the Sixers will make the playoffs. Barring injury, there’s too much talent on this roster for the season to go that poorly. But, this was not a very encouraging three-game stretch. The Sixers have to show us something, and fast.