November 17, 2023
The Sixers headed to Atlanta for an In-Season Tournament Group Play matchup Friday night against the Hawks. Here is what jumped out in the team's third game and second win within Eastern Conference Group A in the 126-116 victory:
At this point, there is basically no challenge Embiid has not faced. But the Sixers found a new one.
Embiid has often been asked to carry a major workload, and sometimes he's had to carry lineups with suspect groupings of four players by his side. But never has he been asked to carry lineups quite like the ones he is leading to close the first and third quarters of games recently.
Take this game's first quarter lineup, for example: Embiid was surrounded by Patrick Beverley, Jaden Springer, Danuel House Jr. and Marcus Morris Sr. There is a lineup without a lot of offensive ability, and then there is this. House Jr. legitimately might be the best perimeter creator of the bunch -- and perimeter creation is one of his biggest weaknesses.
Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris have admirably led non-Embiid lineups, which is a big reason why the Sixers have experienced early success. But with Kelly Oubre Jr. (rib fracture) and Nic Batum (personal) out, the Sixers are desperate for offensive firepower.
Covington has been giving the Sixers quality minutes both off the bench and in a starting role since being acquired in the James Harden trade, surpassing expectations for how much he could produce at this stage of his career.
Covington's first half in this game was one of the best halves of basketball you will ever see from a role player. Covington knocked down each of his two shots -- both from three point range -- and added six rebounds (three of which coming off the offensive glass), three assists, two steals and a block.
Covington was absolutely brilliant, maybe even the best player on the floor in the grand scheme of things, for the first 24 minutes of the game. It was an absolute clinic in doing all of the little things -- from grabbing loose balls to making the hustle plays and everything in between.
Embiid did a fantastic job manipulating Atlanta's defense and taking advantage of their double-teams, particularly early in the game, and was able to find his teammates for great looks. He found Covington for a corner three with a pretty, no-look behind the back pass and was able to find cutters for finishes inside a few times.
Embiid's assist numbers this season are by far the best they've been in his career. In the long run, the Sixers will be considerably more dangerous offensively if he can continue to consistently adjust based on the coverages he sees and weaponize his passing ability. This kind of passing vision plus Embiid's dominant scoring ability would be a lethal combination if put together on a regular basis. The opening of this season has been a great start in that direction.
With Batum and Oubre unavailable, the Sixers' head coach had some difficult rotation decisions to make. Nurse's first call of the night was to play Danuel House Jr. and Springer ahead of Marcus Morris Sr., despite House not giving the team much production all season and Springer's play being up-and-down -- though Springer's excellent showing on Wednesday night earned him some run.
Suddenly, the Sixers got a boost from House and Springer. Springer had multiple jaw-dropping defensive plays and an athletic reverse finish early and helped close the game out late, while House played rock solid defense, scored an and-one and hit an important corner three to help spur a Sixers run in the third quarter, then put together a remarkable sequence early in the fourth quarter with a score, block and assist all in a row.
The Sixers are undermanned right now, making it especially valuable whenever they can get legitimate contributions from their bench pieces.
Harris extended his streak of scoring at least 15 points in every game of the season, and per the usual, he did so efficiently and impressively. Harris knocked down some pivotal spot-up threes early in the game, forced the Hawks into rotations with his drives and scored in the mid-range.
Perhaps most impressive, though, was that Harris was the captain of a severely undermanned lineup that opened the fourth quarter. Maxey and Embiid were both on the bench, and Harris led De'Anthony Melton, Springer, House and Paul Reed to a massive stretch to begin the fourth quarter that put a bow on the win.
In the bigger picture, it's worth acknowledging just how good and reliable Harris has been all season. If the Sixers eventually do find another star-level player in a trade this season, he will be one of the league's elite fourth options.
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