Player Observations After Wizards Dominate Sixers in DC

Lately, the Philadelphia 76ers have been on a tear. Last week, the Sixers entered their Monday night matchup in Houston on a six-game win streak. After taking care of business in H-Town, Philly went home with a season-high of seven-straight wins.

However, when the Sixers faced the Charlotte Hornets at home, they were outplayed and picked up their first loss of 2022. Despite finding themselves in the loser's column for the first time in weeks, the Sixers bounced back on Friday night.

As they hosted the Boston Celtics, the 76ers picked up their second win of the season over the Celtics as they dominated their Eastern Conference rival.

Less than 24 hours after the Boston matchup ended, the Sixers tipped off against the Miami Heat on the road. Despite getting off to a slow start, the Sixers climbed back and took down the Heat, making it two wins in a row for the Sixers.

After getting the day off on Sunday, the Sixers traveled to Washington DC to face the Washington Wizards for the second time this year. In their first meeting, the Sixers easily defeated the Wizards, giving their key players the night off early.

On Monday afternoon, there was a similar result, but the tables were turned. Instead of the Sixers issuing the beatdown, the Wizards were the ones who put their opponent away early as the game was never particularly close.

In the first quarter of action, the Wizards outscored the 76ers 38-29. Washington's first-quarter dominance put the Sixers on notice, but Philadelphia wasn't down and out just yet. After outscoring Washington by three in the second quarter, the Sixers went into halftime, trailing by just six points after being down by as much as 12. 

The two teams traded blows in the third quarter, but it didn't matter. Once the final quarter of the outing approached, the Wizards took complete control of the game. In the fourth, Washington increased their lead to 25 points. 

At that point, it was clear the Sixers' chances of completing a comeback were improbable. Inevitably, the Wizards picked up a 117-98 win.

76ers vs. Wizards Player Observations

How did the Sixers individually perform against the Wizards on Monday?

Tobias Harris

The veteran forward has had some solid outings lately, but Monday’s showing was far from impressive. In 25 minutes, Harris drained just three shots before picking up a sixth foul and ending his afternoon early. He wrapped up the game with seven points, one rebound, one assist, and a turnover.

Joel Embiid

The All-Star center’s 30-point streak was snapped against Boston on Friday, but he had another 30-plus point outing on Saturday. In Washington, Embiid created a streak once again as he put up 32 points in 29 minutes. From three, Embiid was sharp as he drained three of his four deep shots. Typically, Embiid can put the Sixers on his back and give them a chance to win it late in the game, but his supporting cast simply didn’t have any juice to help the Sixers complete the comeback

Tyrese Maxey

It’s not every game Tyrese Maxey takes multiple trips to the free throw line, but he had nine free throw attempts on Monday. After draining eight foul shots and collecting five field goals to go with it, Maxey finished the game with 18 points in 33 minutes. He looked much better on Monday after a quiet game on Saturday.

Seth Curry

Lately, Seth Curry’s been shooting threes at a high volume, which is something the Sixers have been begging for. On Monday, though, he took less than ten shots. From beyond the arc, Curry attempted two shots and they didn’t come until late in the game. As Curry’s a critical piece to the Sixers’ starting lineup, their success counts on him to produce more in the scoring department. He’s been a huge contributor to Philadelphia’s success, but his lack of shooting on Monday really hurt his team.

Furkan Korkmaz

The Sixers wouldn’t typically start Furkan Korkmaz but they haven’t really had a choice lately as Danny Green and Matisse Thybyulle are both nursing injuries. Korkmaz didn’t do much to help the Sixers on Monday. In nearly 30 minutes on the court, the Turkish veteran drained just 30-percent of his shots from the field. He also went 0-5 from beyond the arc. If Korkmaz isn’t draining threes, his game is tough to watch.

Georges Niang

Coming off of a big second-half performance in Miami, Niang had himself a quiet afternoon on Monday. Getting up just four shots in 24 minutes, Niang drained two of his field goals, which came from deep. As he knocked down his one free throw as well, Niang wrapped up the night with seven points in 24 minutes.

Andre Drummond

Rebounding-wise, Drummond was helpful for the Sixers’ bench as he grabbed seven boards in 15 minutes. He also had three steals on the defensive end. Offensively, Drummond had a quiet outing as he had two points off of two shots. 

Isaiah Joe

Joe is a fearless shooter, and he’ll continue to be so as long as he’s on the floor. Unfortunately, his threes just weren’t falling. With six attempts from beyond the arc, Joe created just three of his eight total points from deep. While he led the Sixers’ bench in scoring with eight points, the second-year guard needs to start hitting threes consistently if he wants to garner more opportunities on the court when the team is no longer shorthanded.

Charlie Brown Jr.

With Shake Milton off the floor, the two-way guard Charlie Brown continues to rack up minutes. On Monday, he checked in for 23 minutes. While Brown made a lot of good decisions, his execution came up short on the offensive end as he shot just 2-7 from the field for six points. Regardless of his shooting struggles, Brown continues to look solid for a two-way player that hasn’t had a ton of playing time in the NBA.

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