Sixers Cough Up Another at Home as Cavaliers Sweep Mini Series in Philadelphia

Joel Embiid corrected his mistakes from the first game of this mini series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Tyrese Maxey had few answers, and some bad late-game execution spelled doom in another close loss at home.

Here's what happened.

A different role for Maxey

Whereas Maxey was stopped dead in his tracks as the primary ball-handler in the first quarter of Wednesday's loss to the Cavaliers, the Sixers put the ball in VJ Edgecombe's hands early in this game and let Maxey play off the ball. He never found rhythm in the game on Wednesday, and the Sixers fopund themselves perpetually digging out of a hole.

Nick Nurse and company astutely got Maxey in rhythm early in the game, deploying him as a threat off a sprint. Maxey played with his back to the basket with the ball in his hands a lot in the first game of this mini series. The Sixers adjusted, freeing him of that difficulty with the off-ball movement.

Philadelphia got him great looks on three different set plays in the first. There was a pin-down for him to catch the ball on a sprint and immediately knife downhill through a vacant paint. That possession ended with a floater that was all net. Shortly thereafter, Maxey beat a hard hedge on a pick-and-roll with Embiid on the right wing, pitching the ball back to his partner in crime and beating his man backdoor for a bounce pass from Embiid for a layup. An Iverson action soon followed, Maxey sprinting past screeners from one wing to another and catching the ball for an open three. That one was off the mark, but Philadelphia's purpose on offense was much improved early in this game.

Embiid helps the possession battle

The big man committing four turnovers in the first eight minutes of Wedneday's loss put a massive hole in Philadelphia's ship before they settled into the game. It would be reductive to say Embiid's pristine half on Friday was the only difference for him. But he did his part to shore up the possession battle on Friday.

Just watching his approach and reaction to ball pressure, it seemed like Embiid was especially focused on trying to avoid the mistakes he made on Wednesday. He was more careful with his dribble in space and much more forceful with his physicality against Jarrett Allen. Embiid found a commanding balance between decisive moves for mid-range pull-ups and acting upon thorny driving lanes.

Even when his direct counterpart disrupted his dribble or a helper came over to bother him, Embiid didn't overreact and fumble the ball in panic. He didn't let the game speed him up. It all made for a marked difference in efficiency.

Save the tape

Independent of outcome, the Sixers should be absolutely thrilled with how Embiid and Paul George are playing off each other right now. It was a little over a year ago that they were dribbling into each other and fumbling the ball because they didn't have reps together. They had not figured each other out at all, and, besides their respective failing healths, that was maybe the biggest reason to be skeptical of Philadelphia's postseason upside even if they did find immortality in the 2025 portion of the season.

Fast forward to now, and they've built a good understanding of each other's spots on the floor. There were a number of possessions in this game in which the two passed intuitively to each other, spoon-feeding each other scores. They didn't just take their ball and play on one side of the floor alone, either. The Sixers got quality shots from the other guys on the court by using the attention Embiid and George commanded in the middle of the floor.

It's also not just a matter of passing between the duo. They space off of each other, George knowing where to be to keep his man away from Embiid as a helper and the big guy knowing where to flash to bail George out of messy situations.

The crackdown

If there was one thing the Sixers did consistently in this game to neutralize Cleveland's advantages, it was committing themselves to pressure on defense. There's one way to keep Allen and Evan Mobley from setting up in the paint on defense, and that's by forcing live-ball turnovers. Philadelphia did an excellent job of setting that tone from the very start of the game.

This was not Maxey's finest game by any stretch, but he did an outstanding job of impacting the ball. He picked off a pass to Donovan Mitchell to kick off a five-steal night. But it wasn't just Maxey. Dominick Barlow tied up Mitchell and jarred a ball loose. The Sixers, in general, did a good job of creating deflections for live-ball turnovers. They channeled their aggression productively, refusing to allow size to bother them. That discipline and consistency had Philadelphia in control for virtually the entire night and it even baited the Cavaliers into some errant, rushed decisions to avoid the pressure.

Spare thoughts

George's shotmaking is coming along very nicely as this season reaches the halfway point. He took command of another lineup sans Embiid and Maxey to open the second quarter. He's not just lining up catch-and-shoot threes to immaculate results. George is drawing fouls on reach-ins out of the face-up, lacing mid-range fadeaways and getting to the rim. The Sixers have a beacon of stability there.

Joining George in those lineups is Adem Bona, who surfs on waves of momentum when he's on the court. If he's not committing three fouls in three minutes, he's spiking balls off the backboard. Philadelphia got the good version of him in this game.

The Sixers should try not helping off of Jaylon Tyson one pass away. Just a thought.

Quentin Grimes bungling a righty layup on a drive to the right side of the rim hurts quite a bit in a two-point loss.

This is the first game this season that is truly worthy of concern. Maxey had a mortal night 48 hours after his first mortal night of this mini series. Cleveland might just have something on him in this matchup. The Sixers also got swept in this home series, something that is very rare in the NBA. The Cavaliers get to say that they have the Sixers' number. Something to think about as you start eyeing playoff matchups. Fool me one time, shame on you. Fool me twice...