December 25, 2023
Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
With reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid sidelined, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo took advantage of the Sixers' front line.
The Sixers began a four-game road trip Monday night with a Christmas Day matchup against the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat. The Sixers fell by a score of 119-113, though much of the juice was taken out of this one before it even started. Here is what jumped out Monday night:
Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid was ruled out on Sunday due to an ankle injury he suffered during Friday night's win over the Toronto Raptors. And then, on Monday afternoon, Miami superstar Jimmy Butler was ruled out due to a calf strain. Suddenly, what was once going to be a premiere matchup felt more like an exhibition.
Embiid did not travel with the team to Miami and will be reevaluated on Tuesday, with his status for the remainder of the road trip yet to be determined, a Sixers official said.
Harris had things going well early, quickly finding a rhythm, scoring nine of the team's first 18 points — at one point Harris had more points himself than Miami had as a team.
Harris looked like the early season's version of himself, and that is because he was producing in a wide variety of fashions. He drew a foul and knocked down free throws, he scored going downhill and he spotted up for a corner triple.
Harris looked great from the outset. Maxey... did not. The Sixers' young star guard, tasked with being the team's primary scoring option, took six shots in the first quarter and missed all of them. There was a play or two where Maxey seemed more focused on drawing a foul than making a shot, but his looks were largely good ones that just did not go in.
Maxey went scoreless in the second quarter as well, and in the second half continued to miss shot after shot — as he and the Sixers struggled to counter Miami's aggressive trapping. Missing Embiid is not just about the raw qualitative stats he accrues. It is also about all of the attention typically sent his way that is instead showed to Maxey.
After an excellent start offensively that featured highlight plays from Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr., the Sixers went as cold as ice can get. They missed 17 straight field goal attempts, and during that time were outscored 22-1 by a Miami team that took advantage of their many transition opportunities -- led by star big Bam Adebayo and rookie Jaime Jacquez Jr.
The Sixers' backup center has always been prone to fouling due to his aggressive nature and overall jumpiness. But in a spot start, his availability becomes considerably more important. Fouling can be okay when you're playing 12-15 minutes per game. When you are being relied on to man the middle for the majority of the game, you have to play cautiously. Reed did not do that.
Reed picked up two quick fouls, and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse elected to stick with him. But then Reed picked up his third foul. Soon after came the fourth. And just like that, the Sixers were without their starting center for the vast majority of the first half of this one.
Bamba came in for extended rotation minutes for the first time since Dec. 1, when he impressed in a major way against the Boston Celtics. He was even more impressive early on in this game, scoring 14 points, grabbing four rebounds and notching a steal. Bamba knocked down two triples on the same pick-and-pop actions that generated good looks for him in Boston. The Sixers entered halftime trailing by 14, and it would have been considerably worse if not for Bamba's strong showing.
In the first half, the short-handed Sixers — missing not just Embiid, but also Nic Batum — went to Danuel House Jr. as their first wing off the bench, followed by KJ Martin. Robert Covington, who has largely given them very strong minutes, was out of the rotation. In the second half, Nurse opted to give limited run to Jaden Springer over Covington, which is certainly a questionable call.
Nurse has been reluctant to play Covington as much as many on the outside believe he should. Why that is remains unclear. But it's something to monitor as the season moves on and the trade deadline approaches.
Oubre was fantastic in this one, nailing contested three after contested three. Early on, his shooting helped keep the Sixers in the game. At the beginning of the second half, it helped them turn a 21-point deficit into a tie game on multiple occasions as he punctuated a major run with a tough three-point shot and an and-one, then another three later. It was a signature Oubre stretch — not just because he made valuable plays, but because they all seemed to come at the perfect times.
The Sixers put together as impressive of an effort in this one as you will see from a losing team, overcoming Embiid's absence and Maxey's career-worst struggles en route to nearly stealing a win in Miami. Harris, Oubre, Bamba and the rest of the team did what they needed to do in the second half, but they turned out to dig themselves into just a bit too big of a hole to get out of. There are no moral victories in the NBA, of course, but this is as close as you'll get.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
