Dominick Barlow's Career Night Powers Sixers to Blowout of Clippers

Dominick Barlow went for 26 points and 16 rebounds — 10 of which came on the offensive glass — to power a comfortable Sixers victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to start this west coast road trip.

Here's what happened.

Inglewood Dom

Nick Nurse has said that Paul George's job will be filled by committee while he waits out his suspension. Nurse also hinted that some members of the organization were looking ahead to the west coast trip before the team's home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

How were they going to respond to George's absence against one of the hottest teams in the NBA?

Allow Dominick Barlow to answer. The 22-year-old big man preyed on the old, undermanned Clippers as they rolled into the building on the second night of a back-to-back.

His biggest impact of the game came on the offensive glass. The Sixers missed 24 shots in the first half. They created seven secondary plays on offensive rebounds. Barlow was responsible for five of those seven.

Some of his production was circumstantial, Barlow crashing to the basket at the right and making himself available for putbacks from the weak side of the rim on his teammates' misses. But Barlow also battled to keep possessions alive on some longer misses, pursuing the ball outside of the restricted area and securing it before diving back to the rim for scores.

His youthful athleticism and motor were critical to Philadelphia capitalizing on the margins. Barlow's confidence grew with the success he was having, catching a ball in the corner and attacking a hard closeout by Ivica Zubac for a drive to the rim and free throws.

Barlow's individual advantage grew as the game progressed into the second half. The Clippers just were not up for his physicality, and he continued to be a menace to their efforts to get back into the game. One of the most demoralizing things you can do in basketball is win the battle for an offensive rebound and then score through a foul. Barlow had several of those in this game.

That's a good example of a theme from the Kings game a few days ago. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey carried the lion's share of the offensive load, letting the supporting cast get lost in the shuffle. They didn't look at Barlow to be a hub of offense, but he got himself engaged early in the game by hustling for buckets. Then in the middle of the first quarter, when Kawhi Leonard stripped the ball from the loose handle of Kelly Oubre Jr., Barlow chased down the floor and blocked Leonard from the blind side to stop an easy score.

When the less featured players get involved on offense early, they are more engaged on defense.

I know this Clippers group is not a great test for meaningful data, but the style that Barlow played is something that should sit in Nurse's back pocket when he's thinking about non-traditional lineups. Barlow can't play center in large segments, but his ability to pursue rebounds and make plays at the rim should appeal for some quirky looks from time to time.

Everybody eats

Through the moments of unsteadiness for Philadelphia in this game, their passing chemistry withstood all Clippers efforts to make this one competitive. We've grown used to the offense falling off a cliff because it becomes overly reliant on one or two guys, with the Sixers losing focus or floating out of coherence.

Those lulls were momentary, only allowing the Clippers to shave a few points off the lead before the Sixers regained their balance. Embiid set something of a tone with his passing in the second half. The Clippers spent a lot of time trapping Maxey out of ball screens, but Maxey diligently strung those traps out to the sideline. Then he'd unleash high passes to Embiid at the middle of the floor, creating a four-on-three advantage with the rest of the court to use. He swung the ball to VJ Edgecombe over and over again, and the rookie clanked three after three.

But I suppose a product of those decisions is that everyone else in the lineup sees that the fulcrum of the offense has his eyes everywhere, and so everyone else started to move. It wasn't just Embiid making great passes. Everyone on the floor made the extra pass once they forged a commitment from the Clippers in the paint. It's also far easier to see and make the pass when the recipient is cutting. The Sixers did not stand around and wait for the ball to come to them. They all flashed into the vision of the ball-handler, creating options beyond just calling their own numbers.

It's one thing to cut, it's another thing to cut meaningfully, with conviction and purpose and where the ball-handler can see you. Philadelphia even had strong answers when Los Angeles tried to deploy zone looks, Embiid flashing to the foul line to catch the ball cleanly and then hitting cutters to punish defenders lifting away from the rim.

Staying on this topic, the Embiid-Maxey two-man game has evolved from your basic pick-and-roll. Embiid is often catching the ball high in space on a pass from Maxey and trying to persuade the star guard to cut one pass away for a give-and-go. Sometimes it's a backcut, sometimes it's just beating an overplay. Sometimes Embiid is just a quarterback tossing into coverage and hoping that his receiver can be a step in front to win the battle.

Spare thoughts

Quentin Grimes attacked downhill and threw a bullet of a skip pass to the weak-side corner for a Jared McCain three. It was the best pass I think I've ever seen him make.

On the topic of McCain, two more threes in this game. He's starting to get his shooting legs back.

Several really good passes from Edgecombe in this one. He went for seven assists to impact the offense despite a 1-for-11 night shooting the ball. He's demonstrated enough floor vision that it's hard not to wonder if the best version of his pairing with Maxey puts the more established guard off the ball and gives Edgecombe primary point guard duties.

What amounts to a James Harden trade request coming out during this game is poetic.