76ers vs. Thunder: Player Observations After Sixers' Sunday Night Win
The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road for the second time this season on Sunday night. After falling short against the Brooklyn Nets at home on Friday, the Sixers looked to bounce back after taking on their first loss.
Despite the Sixers being the better and more experienced team on paper on Sunday night, a few absences certainly made life more difficult for the Sixers this weekend. For starters, the Sixers were once again without Ben Simmons and Shake Milton, leaving Doc Rivers to continue rolling with Furkan Korkmaz as the temporary backup point guard.
Then at the center position, Philly played without Joel Embiid's backup Andre Drummond as he's dealing with an ankle sprain. Although Embiid himself was questionable going into the matchup due to knee soreness, he managed to push through the pain and play in Sunday's game.
A young and scrappy Oklahoma City team put up a good fight, but the Sixers managed to snag another victory on the road to open up the season as they defeated the Thunder 115-103. How did the Sixers do individually? Let's observe.
The Starters
The veteran hasn't been all that great to start the season. Against New Orleans and Brooklyn, Green has looked rough. While he hasn't caught fire just yet, Green had his best performance on Sunday as he grabbed 11 points, shooting 3-5 from deep.
Harris has had better nights. Although he nearly notched a double-double by scoring 14 points and coming down with nine rebounds, the max veteran struggled from deep as he missed all four of his three-point attempts.
Joel Embiid
The big man hasn't had an MVP campaign so far this year through three games, but he's been quite solid. He probably played a little longer than expected as he checked in for 33 minutes after being listed as questionable due to knee soreness, but the Sixers needed his services. Embiid's effort on a sore knee is respectable, but he did make some reckless plays that he'll need to think twice about moving forward.
Seth Curry
In each game so far this season, Curry has increased his volume of shots. After Sunday night, Curry remains highly efficient. He caught fire early as he collected 23 points, draining all but one of his seven three-point attempts in the first 12 minutes. Curry's hot streak cooled down throughout the matchup, but he still finished the game with a team-high of 28 points.
Sunday was a rough outing for the second-year guard. Shooting just 4-13 from the field, Maxey put up 14 points in 34 minutes. Through the first two games, he impressed in the starting lineup by taking care of the ball. On Sunday, Maxey turned the ball over three times. The good news is that growing pains are to be expected, and the young guard has shown a lot of promise this season.
The Bench
The Sixers' bench had a rough outing on Friday night versus Brooklyn. On Sunday, Niang helped them bounce back as he drained 50-percent of his shots and hit three of his four three-point attempts. The former Utah Jazz forward led Philly's bench in scoring with 12 points and continues to look like a massive upgrade behind Tobias Harris this year.
So far, it's been the same story with Matisse Thybulle this season. Defensively, he was a star against Oklahoma City. Offensively, he can be much better. Getting up just four shots, Thybulle collected one basket for three points in 20 minutes of action. While his lone basket was a solid step-back three, the third-year guard has yet to show any notable improvements on offense this year.
Furkan Korkmaz
The Turkish sharpshooter has been a consistent contributor off the bench through three games this year. While going 1-5 from three isn't great, Korkmaz has been playing a much different role for the Sixers as Simmons and Milton remain out of the lineup, and he's been doing a solid job at it.
The Isaiah Joe experience during the regular season hasn't been what anybody has expected. After a fantastic showing in the preseason, Joe has been invisible on the court for the Sixers. On Sunday, he checked in for ten minutes and got just two shots up. None of which went in. The second-year guard's likely on a short leash, and he's been struggling to make the most of his limited playing time so far.
The former G League MVP got more playing time than usual on Sunday night as Drummond missed the matchup. Reed collected five rebounds, two assists, two points, and blocked a shot in nearly ten minutes. It was a decent showing for the second-year forward, who hasn't seen the court too much this year.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
