Sixers Barf Up Frustrating Game to Lakers in Wake of Maddening Trade Deadline

The Sixers got 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists. VJ Edgecombe went for 19 points and 10 rebounds. No one else did much of anything as Philadelphia threw away a game against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Here's what happened.

Dominick Barlow, rewarded for buying in

Barlow is an incredible example of what coaches preach in this league all the time: Don't worry about scoring, just buy into your role and let it all fall into place. Shortly after being promoted to a standard contract with the Sixers, Barlow came out and did all the same things he's done to get there in the first place. He doesn't require touches or much usage. Barlow was perfectly content running the floor and playing at the rim. He added to his accumulation of three-point plays via foul, playing through contact at the rim.

Even if it wasn't that, he just beat a slow Lakers defense down the floor and made himself available to teammates. Maxey kept his eyes up and found Barlow for a couple of scores at the rim in transition. It can be that easy if you just run.

It wasn't just the offense for Barlow. He was sliding his feet and doing his best to hold off drives from LeBron James late in the game, making him pick up his dribble in the paint and pivot in search of other opportunities. Barlow ended up with two steals and a block, as well.

Automatic Embiid

A few hours after the Sixers added exactly no one at the trade deadline despite some gentle wishing out loud from Embiid, the big man was absolutely dominant through the first two-and-a-half quarters of the game. He got whatever shot he wanted all night long. Embiid tortured the Lakers in the mid-range, rocking purple jerseys to sleep with jab steps before pouring in jumper after jumper. The Lakers eventually went smaller on Embiid, opting for some more physicality under him at his preferred touch points. He simply pivoted his way into space before drilling jumpers over their contests.

Even when the Lakers threw out some junk looks on defense, Embiid wasn't confused. He flashed to space, caught the ball and rose for decisive shots or connected the first pass to the basket by finding the open man from the middle of the floor.

It was brilliant and dominant while it lasted. Embiid went quiet as the lead trickled to a deficit between the late third quarter and early fourth quarter. He didn't play outright poorly, he just didn't do much to stop the bleeding. Of course, at a certain point, he just didn't have the man power by himself to make up for the futility of his teammates on both ends of the floor.

Still, he could've been more aggressive as he sensed the game getting away. Nick Nurse was certainly aggressive with his substitution patterns. This game didn't mean nothing.

A tale of two halves

When the Sixers seized control in the first two-and-a-half quarters, they did it by maintaining active hands and focus on defense. They poked and slapped down on the ball, jarring it loose on drives. They crowded the dribble, tipping it away for loose-ball opportunities. The Sixers had James solved in the first half, turning him over repeatedly for live-ball chances. Of course, it was a bad sign that they only scored 24 points on 22 Lakers turnovers.

Nonetheless, they capitalized on a Lakers defense that just had no interest in running back on defense. They took it to them at the rim over and over again and got no resistance.

The last 18-or-so minutes of the game were a different game. Philadelphia lost focus on defense, allowing the Lakers to beat them down the floor for quick scores before the defense could get set. The Sixers were not up for the physicality the Lakers brought on drives, often conceding entire runways to the rim for thunderous dunks or layups.

Could've used some three-point shooting

The Sixers have put Quentin Grimes in a fascinating position with their decision to trade Jared McCain. Grimes is in a contract year. He has immense financial incentive to lock in. But they've also removed pressure to play well from his mind. Grimes is the only truly playable guard off the bench now. No one is challenging him for his role unless the Sixers bring in a free agent from the post-deadline pool.

How did Grimes respond to the vote of confidence?

He threw down a powerful dunk early in the game and attacked his way to the foul line for a pair. And that was about it. Four points in 27 minutes. Two field goal attempts. He did leave a nice dump-off for Barlow to score at the rim in the first half. But two field goal attempts in 27 minutes from your sixth man just isn't close to good enough.

The Sixers, in a game they lost by four, shot 5-for-24 from three. They lost the three-point arc by 12 points. They badly could've used an extra offensive punch in this game. For this game to go down the way it did, the night of the trade deadline, was one of the worst outcomes for the Sixers from an optics perspective. They shot the ball terribly and the guy they're entrusting to be the primary guard depth did almost nothing to help the offense.

Spare thoughts

The Sixers did not do nearly enough to target Austin Reaves on defense. He absolutely burned them alive in this game, flipping the momentum entirely with a three-point barrage to start the fourth quarter. Reaves is going to cook on offense. But you have to make him work on defense to neutralize that impact. The Sixers did not have a firm grasp of the plot.

Justin Edwards got a chance to play and committed three fouls in five minutes. So back to the shelf.

Losing this game with Luka Doncic out for the entire second half with leg soreness is sinful.

The only thing more sinful is getting beat to defensive rebounds by Maxi Kleber.