Sixers First Loss Was INSANE…

Sixers First Loss Was INSANE…

Props to the Celtics after losing their first three games. They’ve won three straight and yesterday, which made me worried about tonight. They just ran Cleveland off the court and I just thought the Sixers were due for a loss. And you saw Boston take that momentum from yesterday into the first quarter, outscoring the Sixers 38-25. Got to give credit to Joe Moula for inserting Josh Minot into the lineup. Also, Hugo Gonzalez, I mean, that dude was everywhere. He was a plus 10 in 15 minutes. And I thought that was the story of the game. Boston got to every loose ball, every 50/50 ball, and they destroyed them on the offensive glass. 16 offensive rebounds and only nine for the Sixers. And as you guys know, the Sixers have been living off offensive rebounds during their victories. You know, the loss hurts because they had a chance at the end of the game to win. Tyresese Maxi was trying to foul bait. He didn’t get the call. He was fading away. I would have loved to see him go into the defender more. or I think he would have got the call. Then they got another opportunity and Celtics did a great job, you know, denying Tyrese Maxi the basketball and then Quinnon Grimes like he was doing all night. He was just, you know, playing way too fast and he got himself into trouble and the rest was history. But quite frankly, I mean, the Sixers just did not deserve to win this game. And I think it’s good for them moving forward that they finally didn’t get bailed out because they haven’t played a complete game. They’ve just been playing perfect to end games. And that’s definitely a positive trait to have to be honest. And I love the fight from this group for sure. They’re fun to watch. They never give up. But you can’t expect to win the game when the Celtics are getting every 50/50 loose ball and then you’re right in position to get a ball, but then you fumble it out of bounds or you fumble it right to a Celtics player. I think fatigue definitely played a factor in tonight’s game. I mean, they got to figure out a way to get VJ and Maxi’s minutes down because you could tell Maxi wasn’t asserting himself nearly as much tonight. And also, he was pretty lacadasical with the basketball, five turnovers. Last game in a backtoback, he had four turnovers. In the previous three, one against Orlando, two against Charlotte, one against Boston. So, not only were they not getting to loose balls, but also they were turning the ball over. 18 turnovers. That’s a season high for the team. And the Sixers have been doing a great job taking care of the basketball and they’ve been doing a great job, you know, getting out in transition, but when you’re not coming up with rebounds and things of that nature, you’re going to have less opportunities in transition because when they had opportunities tonight, they were taking advantage in transition. And also tonight, I I think you just saw that natural regression from the three-point line. Quinn Grimes was two of seven from three. He’s been scorching hot like shooting 48% from three. His play really hurt the Sixers. He was a negative 15 in 33 minutes. He just didn’t have it. He started to get going down the stretch, but of course that last play was pretty bad. So realistically tonight, you got nothing from your bench and you really saw that to end the third quarter. Nick Nurse was trying to sneak some minutes without Tyrese Maxi and he deployed a lineup of Quinnon Grimes, VJ, Andre Drummond, Justin Edwards, Trendan Watford and in 2 minutes and 42 seconds that group was a negative seven. and instead of going in the fourth quarter down by like four points with the momentum, they were down by seven and Boston was making a run to end that quarter. It just felt like a critical moment because both coaches were like, “We got to get our stars rest.” So, it was basically bench verse bench. Boston had Peyton Pritchard, Simon, Sam Hower, Luca Garza, and Hugo Gonzalez on the court. And they just had a way better process than the Sixers group. Sixers really didn’t know what they were doing offensively in those minutes. I would have liked to see VJ take over on the basketball a little more during that time. There was also points where Peyton Pritchard was stuck on Trend Watford. I was like, how about we give him a post touch and he gets doubled kick it out or whatever. You can tell right now Trenon Watford is really struggling to find his groove. And that’s only going to get worse when you put him next to Justin Edwards who is terrible. I thought his missed threes in the first half were crucial because if you guys haven’t noticed, the Sixers need their offense in order to play defense. And like in a fiveminute stretch, Justin Edwards got butt naked open three-pointers in the first half and he just could not connect. But as I was saying, Quinn Grimes was also not at his best. And VJ was pretty passive. I I think he’s also feeling the fatigue just like Maxi. It felt like he just wanted to play the role player role tonight, which he did a great job. I mean, I’m just floored how good VJ is already. And then, of course, Andre Drummond was out there next to Trendan Wadford. That’s not a very good fit. Overall, it just felt like Boston’s bench was way more impactful. And once you got away from the starting units, usually it was favoring Boston. And if I’m Nick Nurse, I’m looking at everyone in the locker room and I’m asking, how do we allow 68 points to Boston in the first half? How do you allow 72 points to Washington in the first half? But then all of a sudden, we can flip this switch, hold Boston to 41 points in the second half and only 109 throughout the entire game, which is crazy considering how they started. Also, all of a sudden, we can flip the switch and only allow 16 points to Washington in the fourth quarter. So, if I’m Nick Nurse, I’m looking at everyone. I’m saying, do you guys want to be a cute little fairy tale story? Oh, they’re so fun. They never give up. Or do you guys actually want to bring winning habits to the first half? Like I’ve been saying, it’s not sustainable to have the types of second halfs and end of games that the Sixers have been having. Sooner rather than later, if you keep this stuff up, you’re going to be four and four. You’re going to be a 500 team. And I do believe a lot of this gets fixed with Paul George coming back, uh Trendan Watford, you know, finding a rhythm, Jared McCain, you know, taking minutes from Baxi and VJ because the last two games they just quite frankly look gassed. Also, Dominic Barlo, any type of update on him would be nice, but the reality of the situation is this is the situation. So, they got to fight through and then hopefully as the season progresses, you get more healthy and you cut cut down on the minutes and things of that nature. Joel Embiid, 23 minutes tonight. He had 25 points, 52% from the field. He was a plus nine. They ended up winning his minutes. I thought he had silly turnovers at times just like everyone else. And in the first half, his defense wasn’t very good, just like everyone else. I I thought he stepped up in the second half defensively, just like the Wizards game. But overall, I’m just happy to see him on the court. And defensively, he’s definitely not where you want him to be. But I feel like offensively, he he’s ahead of schedule and you’re seeing signs every now and again of him making an impact defensively. So, what I’m looking forward to next game, you’re playing the 0 and5 Brooklyn Nets. They’re obviously one of the worst teams in the league, but let’s be real, they’re probably one of the hungriest teams in the league right now because they’re dying for their first victory. You can’t sleep on them or it’s going to be another Wizard situation. Cam Thomas can put up points and they’ll have 20 points in a blink of an eye if the Sixers come out like they did in the first quarter. I mean, they just played Atlanta and only lost by five. They had a big comeback against San Antonio. Quite honestly looks like one of the best teams in the NBA and they made it tight in that fourth quarter. They ended up losing by double digits but still. And they also played Cleveland tight. I want the Sixers to come out with their hair on fire pissed off because the last two games for most of the game they’ve been out hustled. I want need a blowout victory because the Nets are a worse team to start the season. I just don’t need another 25point comeback. I would prefer some stressfree basketball. Am I going to get it? Probably not. But as long as they get the victory, I’ll be happy. But seriously, props to the Celtics. They outplayed us and they’ve been looking good lately. So, you got to give them props. Let me know your thoughts below.

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