Sixers Get Stomped by Cavaliers after Disastrous First Quarter

The Sixers were unprepared for battle against the Cleveland Cavaliers' size and physicality, getting played thoroughly off the court by the end of the first quarter. It was a disaster that everyone on Philadelphia's side played a part in.

Here's what happened.

Overwhelmed by size

The Sixers quickly found themselves taking on water, the Cavaliers jumping out to an early seven-point lead thanks in large part to a groggy opening stretch from Joel Embiid. It was an uncharacteristically bad stretch from Embiid on the margins, amassing four turnovers in a little less than eight minutes of play in the first quarter.

Embiid's four hiccups hurt the offense and gave a hot Cleveland team extra possessions, but it wasn't the only thing holding the Sixers back. All four turnovers were of the dead-ball variety, meaning Philadelphia had chances to get back and set up on defense.

The problems that put Philadelphia in a hole were fundamental. They allowed the Cavaliers to play as if they had a size advantage at every position. The Sixers got crushed on passes over the top, conceding scores inside on high-low actions. Cleveland used the size advantage in other ways, getting to the rim quicker than the Sixers could recover out of screens around the paint.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen staff Cleveland's featured twin tower look. They can inflict damage when given the freedom to create around the paint, but there's a point at which you tip your cap if they start lighting your defense on fire. Their damage is done cleaning up rebounds, running behind the big in a pick-and-roll for quick buckets at the rim or, in Moblely's case, spacing the floor.

As the Sixers showed little resistance to the battle in the paint, they started to pinch on driving lanes to cut off dribble penetration. But that meant a Cleveland wing was open one or two passes away. De'Andre Hunter's first quarter was a microcosm of that. While he didn't shoot the ball with prolific success in the first quarter, Hunter got up five attempts from beyond the arc in four minutes of action.

He was open from the corners, from the top of the key, everywhere. The Sixers lost him possession after possession, over-helping as they gave into dribble penetration. Issues on the defensive glass bled into Philadelphia's three-point defense. The Cavaliers missed 16 shots in the first quarter. They got a second chance on eight of those misses. If it wasn't Hunter lining up a practice three on the kickout, it was someone else.

Eventually, the dam broke. The Sixers were reeling. The Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas. One Sixer would chase a shooter heavy, leading to a drive and a kickout. Two Sixers would rotate to the recipient of the kickout, leaving another shooter uncovered one pass away. Cleveland took control of the game by beating Philadelphia inside out in the first quarter.

There wasn't exactly a silver lining at the end of the first 12 minutes, either. Cleveland led by 15 after the first quarter despite shooting below 50 percent from the field and below 35 percent from three. There was room for it to get much worse! It was an awful omen when you looked up at the scoreboard at halftime to a 13-point deficit despite a very quiet first half from Donovan Mitchell.

Tyrese Maxey forced to play with his back to the basket

Even the best have bad days at work from time to time. But this game was less about a cold shooting night and more about Maxey clearly being bothered by Cleveland's combination of physicality and length.

He's developed a repertoire out of the post, finding comfort and direction in backing a defender down and finding opportunities out of that. But it didn't seem like he was playing out of the post by choice in the abominable first quarter. There were a number of Sixers possessions that ended with Maxey pivoting his back to the basket because he had nowhere to go against Cleveland's size. There were a number of touches in which Maxey picked up his dribble out of discomfort, the Cavaliers' defense disrupting his attack.

It was the ultra rare instance of Maxey being completely powerless in the paint. With Embiid sent to the bench amid a brutal opening stretch of his own and Paul George quiet in the first quarter, the Sixers couldn't cobble any coherent offense together.

If you captured the two teams' styles of offense from a bird's eye, the contrast would be remarkable. One team found empty real estate with ease and created comfortable shots out of that. The other was totally stuck in mud.

The officials could've called the game after the first quarter and saved everyone some time.

Spare thoughts

I would imagine everyone paying attention knew how the Jared McCain non-garbage time minutes were going to go. I get you need someone to eat up some minutes, but it could not have been a worse matchup for him.

It is great to see George show some poise and power on offense in these stints without Maxey and Embiid early in the second quarter. He had a pair of threes and a banked fader out of the post to lead the Sixers' search for offensive rhythm.

It was not great to see Dominick Barlow depart with a back contusion early in the third quarter. He did not return. Something to keep track of for sure.

It was admirable to see a bunch of guys play really hard in an effort to chip away at a double-digit deficit. Embiid was a tone-setter in that regard, diving into the stands to save a ball in the third quarter. Quentin Grimes and Jabari Walker had very rough results in this one, but they played extremely hard. The crowd reaction to some hustle plays amid a firm double-digit deficit was noticeable. Philadelphia appreciated the effort amid an absolute stinker.

Speaking of Walker, he'd be such a firm rotation player if he could hit shots. Sounds like an obvious statement, but everything else about his style is helpful. He just can't find any consistency from deep.