The Sixers’ recovery effort in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in Memphis came close.
Losing 12 points in the final period, the Sixers fought and eventually had the chance to win the game after Ja Morant missed the free throw with 5.9 seconds left. Ben Simmons pushed the ball to the floor and passed it to Tyrese Maxey at the top of the bracket, and the rookie failed to convert an unbalanced long-distance attempt.
Joel Embiid (pain in his right knee) and Mike Scott (pain in his right knee) did not travel with the Sixers on this trip. Seth Curry, Vincent Poirier (health and safety protocols) and Furkan Korkmaz (left adductor strain) were left out. Memphis got a star back at Morant, who played his first game since suffering a Grade 2 left ankle sprain on December 28 and had 17 points and six assists.
“I’m not allowing our boys to use excuses,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We need to get away from this. This is going to be an extraordinary year with COVID, injuries. Get over it and win the game. … We cannot accept: ‘Well, we’ll be fine when everyone is here.’ This is unacceptable. “
As for Embiid, Rivers emphasized before the game that the Sixers are being cautious about the health of their All-Star center.
“There is no concern. … But when something comes up, we’ll jump in and be really smart at the start of the season, ”he said.
The Sixers’ fourth straight game will end Sunday night against Thunder. Here are the remarks about his loss to Memphis:
What to do with Simmons night
As was the case in the last two games, Simmons did not create much for himself in the half-court attack, missing his first five attempts at field goal and did not even score a tray of one and one with 7:45 remaining in the second period.
He also gave the ball a few times when looking for transition opportunities and had seven of the Sixers’ 22 plays. In three of their defeats, the team turned 20 or more times.
“It’s not who played tonight, for me, it’s how we played,” said Rivers. “I thought we were a sloppy basketball team and when you play like that, you deserve to lose the game. On the road, 22 detours are unacceptable.
“I would say that of the 22, 15 were not forced – just careless, driving in traffic, cross-court passes, internal passes where they should have left. And I also thought we had a stretch where there was no ball movement tonight, too. I just didn’t like how we played. ”
On a more positive note with Simmons, he continued to contribute in ways other than scoring, including hitting and facilitating. Any player who is apparently close to a triple-double in every game he plays is obviously valuable and versatile, but the Six needed Simmons to be better with his best offensive player. He tends to set the tone on those nights, when Embiid is set aside, and his turns set the wrong tone.
“Each night is different,” said Simmons. “The previous game I had a triple-double; guys were carrying the paint and I managed to find my teammates. Tonight, they were very practical – lots of hands and deviations, which caused twists and turns. This is my fault just slowing down and not getting off my feet. “
Simmons attempted a three-point ball for the second game in a row, throwing in the air a long distance attempt at the end of the first quarter and one in the fourth period.
After being listed again as likely in the injury report on Friday night with swelling in his left knee, Simmons said his knee is not adversely affecting his performance.
“No, I feel good,” he said. “Sometimes he tries to put my legs under me. We have a consecutive date tomorrow, so we’ll see how I feel. But overall, I feel solid.”
Rivers said before the game that the Sixers introduced a “low percentage” of the moves they would like to install, although the team appears to have some actions it likes when Simmons and Maxey share the floor. This was the third consecutive game the two started together, and the Sixers hope that the increase in familiarity will coincide with the increase in effectiveness.
A look we’ve seen on several occasions starts with Maxey making an “Iverson cut”, which results in a side pick-and-roll. Simmons is often opened on the weak side to receive the ball and attack the painting with a vapor tip. He lost a withdrawal from that action in the first quarter. The team has had that game in play since pre-season, and it seems that Rivers is especially inclined to play it with the Maxey-Simmons ensemble.
In general, the Sixers’ best attack this season involved Embiid as the central figure. Without him tying double teams, finding snipers and forcing the defense to move, the Sixers hit 7 out of 25 from three points.
Milton continues to thrive as a sixth man
Asked after the Sixers shootaround on Saturday whether he aspired to become an NBA starter, Shake Milton stopped for a few seconds before giving this answer:
“I would say that I just want to do what is best for the team, whatever helps the team to win. It doesn’t matter if I’m starting or not. It is an opportunity and I have a very good opportunity leaving the bank now. If the coach asks me to move on to the start, I will start and I will have no problems with that. If he asks me to leave the bank, I will continue to do what I do. It’s that easy. “
There is no good reason to change anything about Milton’s role at the moment. The 24-year-old mature man has the freedom to run the second Sixers unit and has been excellent at this job. He scored 28 points out of 10 out of 18 shots on Monday and has now totaled 102 points and hit 63.6 percent of the ground in his last four games.
Milton hit seven more free throws on Saturday. Upon entering the game, he was fouled by 15 percent of his attempted shots, by Cleaning the Glass, in the 98th percentile among the combo’s guards.
Rivers wants him to play with constant aggression.
“It’s funny for Shake, I thought it was a great example at the beginning, because he made a great game (Thursday), it was almost like he was trying to get into the game to get everyone to go,” said Rivers. “And I said to him, ‘Shake it up, go on. Keep your foot on the gas. Do not contain yourself ‘.
“I thought he contained himself in the first half. I thought that in the second half, he tried again. And I want Shake to be like that every night, no matter who’s on the floor, in all situations, because that’s the his skill, and I’m trying to get him to see it. Every night it could be Shake Milton. Tonight, late, he was.
Howard enters
Dwight Howard started Saturday night for the 1,048th time in his NBA career and the third time as Sixer. He must start again on Sunday against a Thunder team expected to be without Al Horford for personal reasons.
The 35-year-old had some pleasant moments, including a missed Simmons free-throw dunk and a block on rookie Xavier Tillman, but the Sixers inevitably lose a lot at both ends of the court whenever Embiid is pushed aside. Howard’s business cards offensively at this stage in his career are recovering, displaying and rolling. To Howard’s credit, he does these things at a high level and with enthusiasm, and it was a bargain on a veteran’s minimum contract.
As in the defeat of the Sixers to the Cavs last month, Rivers used Tony Bradley for a pass in the first half and then turned to Simmons as a small ball center when Howard sat in the third quarter. Bradley managed a few minutes at the end of the third period and at the beginning of the fourth, and will likely have a chance to gain more confidence from his new coach on Sunday.