Player Observations From Sixers' Wednesday Night Loss to Miami
Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers wanted to burn the tape and completely forget about Monday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. As the Sixers lost Joel Embiid and Seth Curry less than an hour before tip-off, Philadelphia seemingly couldn't recover from their unexpected losses.
The 76ers found themselves in a steep hole early on and couldn't recover. Monday's game resulted in a disappointing 126-91 loss for the Sixers. Right away, they were ready to move on and look ahead to the Miami Heat.
On Wednesday, the Sixers got healthier as Joel Embiid and Seth Curry were back in the lineup. While they lost two backups in Georges Niang and Furkan Korkmaz, the Sixers still had the star power advantage over the Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro-less Miami Heat.
However, another slow start for the Sixers made it difficult for them to overcome the Heat. Right out of the gate, the Sixers were outscored by 11 points in the first quarter. While they punched back by outscoring Miami in the second quarter, they went into halftime, trailing 58-49.
Every time the Sixers showed life in the third quarter, the Heat found a way to steal the momentum. Finally, the Sixers managed to get hot in the fourth quarter and teased a comeback. Unfortunately, they couldn't get out in front and close out the game with a victory. Their second-half performance looked promising, but they fell short 101-96 and picked up their 14th loss of the year.
Now, let's observe some of the Sixers' individual performances from Wednesday night.
The Starters
Although he remained in the starting lineup, Matisse Thybulle didn't check-in for more than 15 minutes on Wednesday. His struggles on offense probably had a lot to do with that. Thybulle wasn't hesitant to shoot when he had opportunities to do so, but he went 0-5 from the field.
The veteran forward had one of his best nights in quite some time. He checked in for nearly the entire first quarter and was responsible for seven of the Sixers' first 18 points. Although the Sixers looked rough in the first half, Harris led the team in scoring with 15 points. He wrapped up the night with 24 points in 37 minutes.
Joel Embiid
After missing Monday's game with rib soreness, Embiid made his return to the Sixers on Wednesday. After the game, Embiid revealed that the soreness is still there, and his play against Miami proved that much as he had one of his quieter games this season. Getting up 13 shots, Embiid drained five baskets and six free throws for a total of 17 points. The big man put the fate of the game in his own hands as he took the final three to attempt to tie the game up. Unfortunately, his fifth three-pointer didn't fall.
Seth Curry
The Sixers could've used a much better performance from Curry on Wednesday. Oftentimes this season, Curry would heat up with efficient shooting from the field, but he had a quiet outing against Miami as he drained just three of his seven shots. From beyond the arc, Curry struggled as he knocked down just 25-percent of his threes.
The young guard was hands down the best player on the floor for the Sixers on Wednesday. Although he started slow with zero points in the first quarter, Maxey got aggressive as the game went on and gave the 76ers life. Without Maxey's aggressiveness and skillset, the Sixers leave the Wells Fargo Center with a blowout loss. However, Maxey's team-high of 27 points in 41 minutes offered them a chance to form a comeback victory.
The Bench
This season, Milton's been one of the Sixers' most reliable players coming off the bench, but his performance on Wednesday was forgettable. In 21 minutes of action, the young veteran drained just two of his seven shots from the field. He collected two free throws and wrapped the night up with six points.
The veteran has struggled to make an impact consistently this year. Wednesday night's performance was a step in the right direction for Green. As his playing time went up, Green brought high energy onto the floor for the Sixers when they really needed it. While he didn't light it up from three, going 3-8 from deep, Green hit some big shots. He also collected six rebounds and snagged five steals in 28 minutes.
The young guard benefitted from the absence of Furkan Korkmaz as the Turkish veteran was out with an illness. Considering Korkmaz has been rough lately, Joe's limited minutes were refreshing as he hit on two of his three shots from beyond the arc. He wrapped the night up with six points in 11 minutes.
