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The Philadelphia 76ers got back star guard Tyrese Maxey ahead of their matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, but his return was spoiled by a 127-116 loss to the Western Conference leaders. It was a strange and frustrating game for the Sixers as they struggled to execute but remained within striking distance for most of the matchup. CJ McCollum was red-hot from the floor, leading all scorers with 42 points and shooting a career-high 11-16 on three-pointers. But it was not the strong play of the Pelicans that had Sixers head coach Doc Rivers frustrated. Rather it was the team’s inability to execute down the stretch that he credited for the loss.
“We gave up 30 points off of 19 turnovers,” Rivers bluntly stated. “We gave up another 14 points off of offensive rebounds. That’s 44 points before you even start the game. That’s like spotting the team 44 points and then saying ‘Now, let’s play’. You’re not gonna win that game. I thought early on, we guarded (CJ McCollum) well, and he got going,” per Ky Carlin of SixersWire.
Sixers Execution Issues
The 30 fastbreak points that New Orleans produced especially stood out as the Sixers tallied only eight. Despite having a statistically efficient night, as he ended with 20 points and 10 assists on 5-8 shooting from the field and 4-7 from beyond the three-point arc, it was James Harden that was the biggest culprit of this.
Harden ended with a game-high seven turnovers with several of them due to poor reads or disappointing effort. The former MVP will likely always be due to cough the ball up a few times due to the high rate he possesses it and the advanced passes he throws, but the turnovers could not be overlooked in this matchup.
Joel Embiiid also contributed to this issue. He carried the Sixers on his back early on, scoring 15 of the Sixers’ 27 first-quarter points, but fell out of rhythm late. Embiid finished the matchup with five turnovers of his own with two of these coming in the last 5:30 of play. The spacing issues did not do the big man any justice as the Pelicans made a conscious effort to pack the paint.
Rivers’ Wasn’t Blameless
While the Sixers’ execution issues are worth noting, Rivers deserves some criticism for the position he put the team in. The game changed during the Pelicans’ lineups led by Zion Williamson. The Duke product finished the matchup with 36 points and five rebounds on 13-19 shooting from the field.
He especially made his impact felt when sharing the court with the Sixers’ all-bench lineup which occurred twice in the game. Williamson, who has a real argument for being the best athlete in the NBA, had no issue powering through Georges Niang and Montrezl Harrell who are each limited on the defensive end.
When the game started it looked as if Rivers was going to mirror P.J. Tucker’s minutes with the former number-one overall pick, but this did not prove to be the case. These matchups triggered runs for the Pelicans and, while the team battled back, their inability to execute shot them in the foot. Rivers himself admitted this postgame saying, “The second group struggled a little bit for us, I thought that was the turning point of the game. Then, I really thought just the turnovers, we never could get a rhythm, and they were throughout the game,” per Ky Carlin of SixersWire.
New Orleans is a talented basketball team and is tied for the best record in the West at 23-12 for a reason. However, it is a concern the Sixers are struggling to stand up to higher-caliber teams. If they want to grow into the true contenders they seek to be, Philadelphia cannot count on just blowing out lottery-bound teams to build up their record. Each player and coach has some soul-searching to do as they get set to face off with the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
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