The Sixers dropped to 0-3 on Saturday night with what can only be described as a disappointing and inexcusable loss to the visiting San Antonio Spurs, a team many expect to compete for the rights to draft Victor Wembanyama next summer.
Fresh off two difficult losses to Boston and Milwaukee to open the season, everyone (including the Sixers themselves apparently) expected Saturday’s game to be rather uneventful. The Spurs aren’t exactly stocked with elite offensive talent and the Sixers were desperate to right the ship… right? They were… right?
Nope, evidently not. The Sixers were flat once again and the Spurs pounced. Devin Vassell lit up them up for 20 points in the first half and the Sixers never fully recovered. They had every chance to win the game — this was no blowout — but down by six with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Sixers came out of the timeout lifeless. Thus, we’re talking about a Spurs win.
Let’s get to the good stuff first.
Good elements of Sixers’ loss to Spurs
- Joel Embiid’s recovery game
Joel Embiid played two of the worst games we’ve seen from him in a long time to open the season. He entered this game in need of a bounce-back performance. And he delivered, making quick work of Jakob Poeltl and the Spurs’ scrappy defense. The result was 40 points and 13 rebounds, much more in line with our expectations entering the season.
For the Sixers, any hope of winning the championship starts with Embiid playing like the MVP. He’s still recovering from offseason plantar fasciitis but thankfully it looks like he’s trending in the right direction.
- Tobias Harris embracing his role
After his monumental screw-up in the final moments of the Bucks game, Tobias Harris was in need of his own bounce back. He delivered, looking much more comfortable in his role and converting three triples en route to 15 points.
- Signs of life from the bench
The bench has been pretty disappointing to start the season. I wouldn’t qualify this as a great performance from the second unit, but it was the best performance from that group so far. Georges Niang dropped eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Danuel House made his presence felt on the defensive end. De’Anthony Melton was mostly ineffective on offense, but he continues to provide whirlwind defensive pressure along the perimeter. Montrezl Harrell has the clear upper-hand on Paul Reed right now, but this is the second straight game where Rivers has foregone the backup centers entirely in favor of James Harden and P.J. Tucker small ball.
Bad elements of Sixers’ loss to Spurs
- James Harden’s regression
I’m still extremely confident in the version of James Harden the Sixers are getting this season. Even his “bad” game resulted in a near triple-double of 12 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists. He leverages the defensive attention paid to him with expertise and precision, constantly putting teammates in favorable situations.
That said, 12 points on 18 shots is not great. After hitting what felt like every mid-range attempt against the Bucks, Harden found points much harder to come by in this one. Naturally, there will also be games where Harden simply takes the backseat to Embiid. That’s fine. I’m not worried about him.
- Tyrese Maxey’s defense
This was the strongest offensive output of the season for Tyrese Maxey. He scored 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting (3-of-8 from deep) and supplied six assists. More playmaking juice from the 21-year-old is a good sign of things to come. Unfortunately, Maxey was -11 on the night. That was the worst mark of any starter and second worst on the whole team. It’s because of his defense. Maxey is giving up dribble penetration far too easily right now. There are natural limitations that come with being 6-foot-2, but he’s an elite athlete with above-average strength for his size. He has to be better.
- The bench’s (lack of) offense
The bench did show signs of life and there’s reason to be optimistic about the defensive duo of Melton and House. But between Niang’s eight points and House’s two points, the bench still combined for 10 total points. If the Sixers’ supposedly elite depth is going to truly deliver on its preseason hype, there have to be more points on the horizon. Mainly from Melton, who doesn’t look like he knows what to do on offense right now. Maybe that’s more on our beloved head coach Doc Rivers.
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.