Sixers Lack Physicality and Playmaking in First Loss to Knicks Since 2017
The Sixers had won 15 straight against the New York Knicks, so something had to eventually give.
It gave on Tuesday night, in a double-digit road loss that wasn’t as close as the box score might indicate. It led head coach Doc Rivers to say this after the game:
Doc Rivers says the first quarter was the problem for the Sixers, not the second. Says New York’s physicality and pressure completely took Philadelphia out of its comfort zone. Says the Knicks were clearly the better team.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 27, 2021
I’m not sure what Doc means with that first quarter/second quarter observation. The Sixers won the first quarter, 26-23, then got their doors blown off in the second quarter by a 39-16 margin. They went into the half down by 20 points, and even though they won the third and fourth quarters, it wasn’t enough to erase that deficit.
He’s right however, when he says New York’s physicality took the Sixers out of the game. The Knicks play hard for Thibs, and defensively bring it pretty much every night. They didn’t give Philly anything easy last night, and it was the first game where you felt like the Sixers really could have used Ben Simmons out there. They had to stick Tyrese Maxey on Kemba Walker and Seth Curry on Evan Fournier, leaving Tobias Harris and Danny Green to deal with Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett, respectively. New York shot 43% from three on 37 attempts, which is a number that’s way up from the 30 3PA they were attempting last year. They really went out and added some perimeter shooting in the offseason, and look like a much more well-rounded team in 2021.
As for the Sixers, Tobias Harris threw nine assists while the rest of the team combined for 15. Joel Embiid turned the ball over five times while shooting 2-7 from the floor. Outside of a 10-11 mark from the foul line, he didn’t look like himself, and hasn’t been 100% healthy since banging his knee in the season opener:
Joel Embiid 2-7 last night with one shot attempt in the paint (the third quarter dunk). Also turned the ball over five times. Didn't look healthy/like himself at all: pic.twitter.com/2TBIfziqE0
— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) October 27, 2021
Maxey had three assists and two turnovers and you saw his limitations last night as a combo guard being asked to run point in Simmons’ absence.
Maybe this game would have been different if the Sixers could have bought a bucket from deep. They shot 12-41 from three-point range, which is good for 29%, but the silver lining is that they continue to fire away from downtown. Analytically, their shot plots look better than they did for large portions of last season, and that’s something to keep an eye on as this season progresses.
They’ve got a four-game home stand coming up against the Pistons, Hawks, Blazers, and Bulls, which is actually intriguing. The Pistons stink, but Chicago is 4-0. Atlanta is a revenge game and Portland could be an audition for Dame Lillard? One can hope.