Alright, lets just get this ridiculousness out of the way first.
Sam Hinkie was actually being interviewed by Malik and Zu when that occurred, to which he remarked, “That is not part of our player development plan.” WELL IT SHOULD BE.
The last time I started a recap with a KJ highlight, it was because nothing else about that game was worth discussing. This time I’m just doing it because selfie-oops off the glass are awesome. The Sixers gave us plenty to discuss tonight while dropping a tough game to the Warriors 89-84. It was the tale of two ends of the court for the Sixers, as they played frenetic, scrappy defense at one end, and frantic, sloppy offense on the other end.
The Sixers managed to hold the Warriors to their 2nd lowest point total of the season (86 was the lowest against the Clips). The Splash Brothers, the NBA’s fiercest backcourt, combined for 33 pts, 13 pts off of their combined average. They also combined to shoot 22% from downtown and 32% overall, waaaay below their averages. Granted, there were plenty of open looks to go around for the Dubs and a lot of shots were just not falling. The Warriors were also playing on some tired legs, competing in their 3rd road game in 4 nights.
But lets give credit where credit is due – the Sixers play some legit D, especially in the paint where their length and freakish athleticism really give teams fits going to the rack. Nerlens in particular was really active around the rim, contesting and altering practically every layup. Their athleticism also lets them do things like consciously throw JaKarr (6'9", played PF in college) at Steph Curry (6'3") on the perimeter, then switch JaKarr and Jerami on a Curry/Draymond Green pick without missing a beat. The Sixers finished with 9 steals, 4 blocks, and a plethora of near blocks called goaltends. It cannot be enjoyable to play the Sixers these days, and the looks on the Warriors faces early in the game spoke miles to that.
So, when you can do that kind of defensive damage to the leagues best offense, how do you NOT win that game? Because you commit 27 TOs. A season-high-tying 27 TOs (Sixers have done it twice before this year, including earlier in the season to the Warriors). The Sixers committed their 21st turnover with roughly two minutes to go in the game, and were only down by 7 points, which is just silly. Malik made a nice point that the Sixers held the Warriors to 89 points even while giving them 27 extra possessions.
Ultra rookie Tim Frazier led the team with 7 TOs, but honestly he was dropping dimes and most of his teammates just weren’t ready for them (He was really looking for Nerlens, whose stone hands were on full display). Tim does a great job probing the paint, not picking up his dribble, and splitting defenders with a quick shovel pass under the hoop (also with MCW injured and Franklin unavailable until after the All-Star break, he’s all we got). But man if there weren’t plenty of passes that were dropped, bobbled, thrown at someone’s ankles, or just completely ill advised.
The Sixers also cooled off a bit from the field tonight, as Hollis, Jerami, and KJ all went 0-fer from downtown. The finished the night with 7 made 3s, down from their average of almost 11/game over the last 6 contests. Lord Covington was really the only Sixer who kept it going, shooting 4-10 from downtown and leading the Sixers with 21 pts.
The Sixers go into an exceptionally long All-Star break (10 days of rest for the Philly ballers) having won 4 of their last 8 games, including 3 of 4 at home, with hard fought losses to the Cavaliers, Hawks, and Warriors, arguably the 3 best teams in the league. I think had I told anyone at the start of the season that would be the storyline headed into the break, no one would believe me. One can only wonder what leaps in improvement and wondrous D-league pickups await us Philly faithful in the final third of the season.
