Player Observations After Sixers Defeat New Orleans at Home

The Philadelphia 76ers closed out a busy four-game slate last week with a matchup on the road against the San Antonio Spurs. Heading into the Sunday night matchup, the Sixers were 1-2 on the week. After participating in a rematch with the Spurs, the Sixers wrapped up the week 2-2 as they defeated San Antonio away from home.

After getting the day off on Monday, the 76ers returned to the court on Tuesday. For the second time this season, the Sixers played the New Orleans Pelicans. Although the two teams were supposed to meet for the second and final time last month, a ton of absences made it difficult for the Sixers to meet the eight-man minimum of available players. Therefore, the matchup was postponed.

New Orleans finally paid a visit to Philadelphia on Tuesday for the make-up game. Heading into the matchup, the Pelicans were the ones with a ton of injuries this time around. Considering the number of valuable players New Orleans was missing on Tuesday, the Sixers were heavily favored over the Pelicans.

But New Orleans wouldn’t roll over for anybody. In the first quarter, the Pelicans actually outscored the Sixers by four points. They followed up the opening quarter by outscoring the Sixers once again. By halftime, Philadelphia trailed by eight points.

While the Pelicans stunned many with their first half against the Sixers, it was only a matter of time before Joel Embiid and the Sixers woke up. In the third quarter, the lead changed five times. In the fourth quarter, it changed twice. 

While the Pelicans held their own, the Sixers outscored them by 18 points in the second half. With that late-game rally, the Sixers defeated New Orleans 117-107 and picked up their 28th victory of the season.

76ers vs. Pelicans Player Observations

Matisse Thybulle

After missing the last five games with a sprained shoulder, Thybulle returned to the Sixers’ lineup. With Danny Green still out of the mix, Thybulle got the nod to start. He appeared on the court for 33 minutes. Offensively, Thybulle struggled as he drained just one of his five shots. From deep, he went 0-3. Thybulle made up for his offensive struggles on the defensive end as he collected four rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot.

Tobias Harris

Lately, Harris has been one of Philly’s most reliable players as he battles through an upper-body setback. Tuesday’s performance was one of the best games Harris played this season. In a little under 40 minutes of action, he was extremely efficient from the field as he knocked down 13 of his 19 shots. He accounted for 33 points and made it a double-double with 14 rebounds.

Joel Embiid

Once again, Embiid had another fantastic game to add to his MVP campaign. In just 33 minutes, Embiid collected 42 points. He also had 14 rebounds, four assists and four phenomenal blocks on the defensive end. Per usual, the Sixers don’t win Tuesday’s game without Embiid going supernova.

Furkan Korkmaz

The Turkish sharpshooter hit a milestone on Tuesday as he is now eighth on the Sixers’ all-time three pointers list with 357 successful deep shots. While Korkmaz’s achievement is impressive, his overall performance on Tuesday night specifically wasn’t very great. In 37 minutes, Korkmaz drained just 30-percent of his field goal attempts. He went just 2-7 from three. While several trips to the free throw line helped Korkmaz collect 13 points, the veteran wing needs to be better from deep.

Tyrese Maxey

Every now and then, Tyrese Maxey has an underwhelming offensive night. Tuesday’s game was one of those times. The young guard went just 4-10 from the field, scoring ten points. It’s a good sign that Maxey continues to improve from beyond the arc as he went 2-4 from three, but his overall performance against New Orleans wasn’t his best.

Georges Niang

The veteran forward had another quiet scoring night on Tuesday. In 21 minutes, he went 2-5 from the field for six points. While he didn’t light it up from three, Niang impressed in the passing game as he notched a season-high of six assists on Tuesday.

Isaiah Joe

It’s hard to imagine Isaiah Joe still has a spot in the Sixers’ rotation when Danny Green and Shake Milton come back. In roughly 22 minutes on the court, Joe struggled from the field as he knocked down just two of his six shots. All of his shot attempts came from beyond the arc. 

Charlie Brown Jr.

Lately, Charlie Brown’s seen some notable playing time for a newly-signed two-way guy. But with Matisse Thybulle back in the mix, it seems Brown is slowly going to be phased out of the rotation as he checked in for a little over four minutes on Tuesday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.