Still time left to enter our $500 tailgating giveaway from AmeriGas. The prize includes a portable grill, a portable heat lamp, two tailgating chairs with sunshade, a hose to hook it all up, and $200 worth of apparel from the Crossing Broad Store. You can enter here.

 

You didn’t expect them to hold a 22-point lead for the rest of the game, did you? You didn’t expect JJ Redick to shoot lights out for 48 minutes, nor did you expect the Celtics to play like crap for that same amount of time.. right?

Say what you will about the Sixers, but Boston just kicked it up a notch at the end of the second quarter. They finally showed some urgency and started playing the type of defense that makes them the best team in the east, with the NBA’s second-highest winning percentage.

Runs happen. You can’t blow a 22-point lead if you don’t build a 22-point lead in the first place, so the Sixers obviously do not “suck,” nor should Brett Brown be fired for this problem specifically. Instead, Sixer fans should be happy that the team is actually building any kind of lead at all for the first time in five seasons. That’s the glass half-full approach – a “good problem to have” for a fledgling group.

If they were losing by 22 in the 2nd quarter and went on to lose by 22, that’s something entirely different, and basically what we saw throughout the “Process” era. The problem is that a young team with mental fragility just doesn’t respond well to adversity. They are easily spooked and begin to turn the ball over. The basketball that got them there – up tempo, fluid, and rhythmic – starts to become jerky and disjointed. They build these leads with a fast pace and knock-down three-point shooting, and when that isn’t working, those leads disappear with the same brevity at which they were created.

In a way, this team really reminds me of, say, Chip Kelly’s Oregon Duck offense. They spread the ball out, push the tempo, and score points in bunches. Then, when Stanford figures it out and starts making tackles and shutting down your speedy attack, Oregon has no clue what to do. They can’t line up in I-formation and hand the ball to the fullback. They can’t run Corey Clement six times in a row. How do you play with a lead?

That’s the Sixers. Brett Brown has to figure out some way to shift out of 1st gear and teach Ben Simmons to manage the game in different ways, because they only really know one speed and one style right now. Ideally, you’re tossing the ball to Joel Embiid in the post and letting him work in a more deliberate, half-court style. But when he plays like he did yesterday, how effective is that? I don’t know what they can really do with this personnel grouping right now. Markelle Fultz should help as a guy who can theoretically create off the dribble.

As an inexperienced team that plays this style, the growing pains are what they are. The real killer is watching veteran guys like Jerryd Bayless throw the ball away on careless entry passes:

That’s coming out of a timeout in a nine-point game with 9:34 left to play.

Some of this stuff you’re willing to live with, while the rest is inexcusable.

 

1) Embiid (and others)

He just didn’t have it, contributing 15 points on 6-17 shooting (35.3%). He tried five three-pointers and hit just one. Joel did add 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a 1 block, but he turned it over 4 times and finished -17, if you care about plus/minus differential.

In two matchups with Boston this season, Embiid is averaging just 13 points per game with a 30.3 field goal percentage. That’s his lowest PPG and FG% against all opponents in 2017-18, which, admittedly, does not come with a large sample size.

But, for whatever reason, the Celtics have just played him well this year. Aron Baynes is a pain in the ass defensively. Even Daniel Theis came off the bench to do a nice job and force some contested shots.

As I mentioned above, when Joel isn’t influencing the game offensively, they are essentially crippled in the “Plan B” department, since they can’t reliably dump it to him in the low post to switch up their tempo and three-point routine. Joel has been a good “release valve” in spots this season, but when he’s not on his game the rest of the team plays like one big chicken running around with its head cut off. Joel is the head of the chicken. He must remain attached.

It also doesn’t help your case when Dario Saric and Robert Covington shoot 6-19 and 2-10 from three-point range. Saric had one of his worst games in recent weeks, which is a shame considering that his father was in the crowd and got to see him in a Sixer uniform for the first time ever. Covington continues to underwhelm and has frankly been disappointing since signing his contract extension. I didn’t expect him to keep shooting 50% from deep, but I think Sixer fans feel the same way I do: disenchanted.

As far as the bench, T.J. McConnell had a nice game. Everyone else was… everyone else.

 

2) Jayson Tatum and Ben Simmons

I’m not really into the “this player is better than this player” thing. That’s an NBA obsession, isn’t it?

“Is Kobe a top-10 all-time player?”

“Could the Warriors beat the ’96 Bulls?” 

“Would Wilt Chamberlain have 75 blocks in the modern day NBA?”

The corny, lukewarm take is that I thought both guys played well yesterday. I love how Simmons again came out aggressively, pushing to his spots and hitting around the rim. He even nailed this baseline fadeaway, which I’m 99% sure is the longest shot he’s sunk all season:

I mean, if you take nothing else from this game, and put the film on the bonfire, at least save this clip, because if he adds this shot to his arsenal, then good luck defenders. Ben finished with 16 points on 8-12 shooting and added two rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He turned it over three times and finished with a ridiculous zero free-throw attempts, which is just a killer for me, because driving to rim and getting foul calls is another way for the Sixers to combat these runs and slow the game down.

Tatum was sleepy to start but got into his rhythm in the 2nd quarter and finished with 16 points on 7-13 shooting in 24 minutes. Simmons played 29 minutes. If you go by per-48 numbers, the Celtic rookie had the better game statistically.

But it is what it is. You’re comparing a scorer to a facilitator here. Tatum’s shooting is well-above what any rookie would normally be doing in the NBA. Simmons’ assist numbers are similarly high. Tatum can shoot the three and is great at the line. Ben isn’t, but he can create for teammates in a way that Tatum can’t.

I think the Sixers’ December struggles soured people on Simmons a bit, but if you’re forcing me to hand out “Rookie of the Year” on January 12th, I’ve got Ben at 1a and Tatum at 1b right now. I don’t see a ton of separation.

If you’re a neutral, just watch and appreciate:

 

3) Marcus and Marcus

Two Marcus-related incidents yesterday.

Marcus Smart whacked JJ Redick in the face because – get this – he felt like Redick flopped.

The irony!

And then Marcus Morris shoved Ben Simmons because he felt like he took a cheap shot on this screen attempt:

Hmm.. it does look like Ben lowers the shoulder there. Frustration? Haven’t seen much of that from anybody outside of the Embiid this season. I kind of like it though, because it says to me that these guys at least give a shit, instead of just taking the L, collecting a paycheck, and moving on.

 

4) Done with London

This was a Sixer home game, and they really tried to emulate the Wells Fargo Center experience in more ways than one. Matt Cord was on the PA system and Mike from the Sixers dunk squad did the national anthem. I thought they’d go high-profile since this was a showcase London game, but, now that I think about it, I kind of respect the fact that they stuck with their usual guys. Feels like.. loyalty maybe? What a weird concept.

I enjoy the novelty of the London game and I’m all for the brand-building side of sports, but you’ve gotta be shitting me if you think that losing a home game isn’t a big deal for this team. And no, I don’t think the Sixers would be favored against the Celtics in Philly anymore than Boston, London, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, but I’d rather take my chances in front of the WFC crowd instead of some neutral site jawn disguised as a home game.

What we really need is a trade, right? We’ll send you Lonzo Ball and Blake Bortles next year and you give us Tottenham vs. Arsenal at the Liacouras Center.

“The North London derby comes to North Philly.”

Works for me. Let’s get it done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bucVwI0RfEg