76ers vs. Magic: Player Observations After Sixers' Tight Win on Monday
The Philadelphia 76ers returned to their home court on Monday night after dropping a double-overtime thriller against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
As they've been slowly getting healthier, the Sixers have struggled to churn out wins lately consistently. On Monday, they welcomed the Orlando Magic, who have been in a similar position all season long, to South Philly for a matchup.
After getting off to a hot start, the Sixers started to play some uninspiring basketball. In the first quarter alone, the Sixers led by as much as 15 points. By the time the third quarter rolled around, the Magic had outscored the Sixers 35-27 and changed the lead twice. The game came down to the wire, but the Sixers ultimately found a way to come out on top as they secured a 101-96 victory at home on Monday.
With that victory, the Sixers advance to 11-10 on the season before hitting the road once again. Now, let's observe the individual player performances from Monday.
The Starters
After coming off of the bench for the last couple of games, Danny Green was thrown back into the starting lineup against Orlando. Prior to tip-off, Doc Rivers made it clear that Green's minutes restriction isn't going away just yet. Therefore, he checked in for just 23 minutes on Monday. He didn't have a significant impact on the game, but the fact that he's slowly seeing his minute limitations go away is a positive sign.
The veteran forward led the Sixers in shots taken with 20 attempts on Monday. He wrapped up the night with 17 points. Unlike Saturday night, a lot of Harris's production came during the first half. Harris struggled in the second half on Monday as he hit on just two of his 11 shots in the final 18 minutes he played. As a whole, the Sixers struggled to close on Monday, and Harris didn't help the cause.
The All-Star might've been fatigued on Monday, and who can blame him? Coming off of an ugly battle with COVID-19, Embiid played a season-high of 45 minutes on Saturday night. While he dominated over the weekend, Embiid wasn't as sharp on Monday as he hit on just four of his 16 shots for 16 points.
Seth Curry
The veteran sharpshooter was easily the best player on the floor for the Sixers on Monday. After getting off to a red-hot start this season, Curry's shooting efficiency took a bit of a dip lately. However, he was on fire once again against Orlando as he made all but three of his ten shots from the field. Curry led the Sixers in scoring with 24 points and more than likely don't win without him on Monday.
Although he cleaned up the turnovers and took care of the ball on Monday night after turning it over four times on Saturday, Maxey had a rough shooting night. As he chucked up 12 shots, Maxey drained just two attempts. By collecting four points from the free-throw line, he finished the night with nine points. Growing pains are to be expected from Maxey, so his last two performances are nothing to be alarmed about.
The Bench
Andre Drummond
The veteran big man saved the Sixers in the eyes of Doc Rivers on Monday night. As Drummond dominated on the boards in the second half, he gave the Sixers a lot of second scoring opportunities. In total, he finished the night with 12 rebounds and also collected seven points on the offensive end as well.
The defensive standout had a quietly solid offensive night as he picked up seven points by knocking down three of his five field-goal attempts. If Thybulle can continue to show improvement on offense, then there's a chance he could win himself a permanent spot in the starting lineup. But right now, Thybulle has to continue proving he can be consistent on the offensive end.
Once again, the veteran didn't have a great shooting night, but the two threes that he did knock down were timely. Niang's knocked down just 36-percent of his threes over the last ten games. He hasn't hit a slump, but the veteran is definitely struggling more than he typically does as he's a career 40-percent shooter from three.
The Turkish veteran continues to try and shoot his way out of his current slump, but it just hasn't been working. As he checked in for a little over 16 minutes on Monday, Korkmaz drained just one of his six shots from the field. Four of those attempts came from beyond the arc, and he went scoreless from deep.
