The Sixers’ fourth-quarter return attempt Saturday night in Memphis came just short.
With 12 points behind the final period, the Sixers fought back and finally got the chance to win the game after a Ja Morant had a free throw with 5.9 seconds left. Ben Simmons pushed the ball to the floor and handed it to Tyrese Maxey at the top of the key, and the rookie could not convert an attempt from outside the balance.
Joel Embiid (pain in the right knee) and Mike Scott (pain in the right knee) did not travel with the Sixers for this trip. Seth Curry, Vincent Poirier (healthy and safety protocols) and Furkan Korkmaz (left adductor tribe) remained. Memphis got a star in Morant, who played his first game since he had a grade 2 left ankle on Dec. 28 and had 17 points and six assists.
“I do not allow our guys to make excuses,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “We have to get away from it. It’s going to be an extraordinary year with COVID, injuries. Go over it and win the game. … We can not accept: “Well, it would be good if everyone was here.” This is unacceptable. ”
As for Embiid, Rivers stressed that the Sixers are careful about the health of their All-Star center.
“There is no concern. “But if something comes up, we will jump on it and we will be very smart early in the season,” he said.
The Sixers’ fourth full-back of the season concludes Sunday night against the Thunder. Here are comments on their loss to Memphis:
What to make of Simmons’ evening
As has been the case in the last two games, Simmons did not create much for himself in the attack on half of the court; he missed his first five field goal attempts and did not score to a one-on-one lineup with 7:45 left in the second period.
He also gave the ball away a few times when he was looking for transition opportunities and had seven of the Sixers’ 22 times. In three of their losses, the team has carried it over 20 or more times.
“It’s not who played for me tonight, it’s how we played,” Rivers said. ‘I thought we were a sloppy basketball team and if you play like that, you deserve the game. By the way, 22 turnover is unacceptable.
“I would say some of the 22, 15 were unforced – just sloppy, in traffic, crossroads, inside lanes where they had to go out. And then I also thought we had a stretch where there was no ball movement tonight, I just did not like how we played. ‘
On a more positive note with Simmons, he continued to make a contribution in addition to scoring, including rebound and facilitation. Every player who seems to be close to a triple in every game he plays is obviously valuable and versatile, but the Sixers needed Simmons to be better with their best attacking player. He tends to set the tone on these evenings when Embiid is sidelined, and his turnover sets the wrong tone.
“Every night is different,” Simmons said. ‘The previous match had a triple double; guys were loading the paint and I could find my teammates. Tonight they were very handy – lots of hands and deflections, which caused turnover. It depends on me just to slow it down and not leave my feet. ”
Simmons tried a second consecutive game with a three-pointer and at the end of the first quarter one long-distance try and one in the fourth period.
After appearing again on Friday night’s injury report with likely swelling to the left knee as likely, Simmons said his knee did not adversely affect his performance.
“No, I feel good,” he said. “Sometimes it tries to get my legs under me. We have a back-to-back back tomorrow so we can see how I feel. But overall I feel solid.”
Rivers said before the game that the Sixers had released a ‘low percentage’ of the plays they would eventually like to install, although the team apparently wants some action when Simmons and Maxey share the floor. It was the third consecutive game that the two started together, and the Sixers will hope that greater fame coincides with increased efficiency.
One look we’ve seen on several occasions begins with the fact that Maxey makes an ‘Iverson cut’ that flows in a side-and-roll flow. Simmons is then often open on the weak side to receive the ball and attack the paint with a steam heater. He missed an outline of the action in the first quarter. The team has been playing the game since the preseason, and Rivers seems particularly inclined to carry it along with the Maxey-Simmons tandem.
Overall, the best offense of the Sixers this season was Embiid as the central figure. Without pulling double teams, finding shooters and forcing the defense to scramble, the Sixers shoot 7 out of 25 from three points.
Milton still thrives as a sixth man
Asked if the Sixers’ result on Saturday is whether he aspires to become an NBA starter, Shake Milton paused for a few seconds before giving the answer:
‘I would say I just want to do what’s best for the team, whatever helps to win the team. It does not really matter if I start. This is an opportunity and I now have a really good opportunity to get off the bench. If Coach asks me to start, then I will start and I will have no problem with it. If he asks me to get off the couch, I will continue to do what I do. It’s as easy as that. ”
There is currently no good reason to change anything about Milton’s role. The adult 24-year-old has the freedom to manage the Sixers’ second unit and was excellent at work. He scored 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting on Monday and has now scored 102 points in the last four games and shot 63.6 percent off the floor.
Milton drew seven more free throws on Saturday. When he entered the game, he was polluted in the 98th percentile among combo guards at 15 percent of his shot attempts, per clearing of the glass.
Rivers wants him to play with constant aggression.
‘It’s funny for Shake, I thought early on it was a good example because he had a great game (Thursday). “It was almost as if he was trying to enter the game to get everyone going,” Rivers said. “And I said to him, ‘Shake it up.’ Keep your foot on the gas. Do not hold yourself back. ‘
“I thought he held him back in the first half. I thought in the second half, he worked for it again. And I want Shake to be like that every night, no matter who’s on the floor, in all situations. “Because it’s his ability, and I’m trying to show him. It could be Shake Milton every night. Tonight, late, he was.”
Howard tree in
Dwight Howard started Saturday night for the 1,048th time in his NBA career and for the third time as a Sixer. He has to start again against a Thunder team on Sunday would be expected without Al Horford for personal reasons.
The 35-year-old had some nice moments, including a kick-back dunk from a missed Simmons-free throw and a push block on newcomer Xavier Tillman, but the Sixers inevitably lose a lot on both sides of the floor when Embiid along the margin. . Howard’s calling cards at this stage of his career are offensive and repair and display. In Howard’s honor, he does things at a high level and with enthusiasm, and he was a bargain on a veteran minimum contract.
As in the Sixers loss to the Cavs last month, Rivers used Tony Bradley for a first half and then turned to Simmons as a center for small balls when Howard sat out in the third quarter. Bradley did get minutes late in the third period and early in the fourth period, and he will likely get more chances on Sunday to earn more of his new coach’s confidence.