December 20, 2023
In part two of a three-game homestand, the Sixers played host to the team with the best record in the NBA, the 20-5 Minnesota Timberwolves. The Sixers were able to knock off the Western Conference leaders -- despite being short-handed -- by the score of 127-113. Here is what jumped out from the bounce-back win:
The Sixers were without some noteworthy pieces in this one. The most notable absence was that of Nic Batum, who strained his right hamstring near the end of Monday night's loss against the Chicago Bulls. Batum was replaced in the starting lineup by Kelly Oubre Jr., who had been starting before Batum's arrival.
On top of that, Robert Covington was unavailable in this one due to an illness. With two of the Sixers' key wings unavailable, more opportunities were available for some of the ones lower on the depth chart.
Shake Milton spent the first five years of his career as a member of the Sixers, the first season as a two-way player and the next four on a standard NBA deal. This past summer, Milton departed Philadelphia, signing a two-year, $10 million with the Wolves to bolster their second unit's offense.
Milton's playing time has been volatile in recent weeks as he has struggled to get in a rhythm. Milton entered this game shooting just 38 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from beyond the arc. Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch explained that he is one of three players fighting for the ninth and final spot in the team's rotation, and that the spot can be filled by different players based on what the Wolves need in a pinch.
"[Milton has] been really good for us," Finch said. "Defensively, I've really been pleased with him too."
Milton received a tribute video during a first quarter timeout and saluted the crowd.
The Sixers averaged 27.7 free throw attempts per game entering this one, best in the NBA. In just the first half Wednesday night, they shot 18 free throws -- and knocked down every single one of them. Against a defense as solid as Minnesota's, it is essential to take care of business at the line, and the Sixers did just that. Joel Embiid went 10-10 from the charity stripe, and Tyrese Maxey was 5-5.
The Wolves have three outstanding bigs: Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid. All three of them picked up a pair of fouls in the first quarter.
Many have been frustrated with Morris' workload, but in recent weeks he has been rock solid. He continues to shoot the ball exceptionally well, and while he will never be a plus defender, he has avoided being a significant negative.
The Sixers' head coach has gone with a 10-man rotation in recent games, but with Batum and Covington out, he opted to instead play nine guys. The obvious move was to start Oubre in Batum's place and insert Danuel House Jr. to replace Oubre on the bench unit. But instead of also adding any of Jaden Springer, KJ Martin, Furkan Korkmaz or Mo Bamba, he simply redistributed the excess minutes to House and Morris.
Melton had an awkward collision late in the first half and missed the rest of the game with what the Sixers called a thigh contusion. Patrick Beverley replaced him in the starting lineup to open the third quarter. The Sixers will survive if Melton misses additional time -- Batum and Oubre would likely start. But Melton is a significant piece to this puzzle -- it would hurt if he has to miss a significant amount of action.
Rather than go with eight guys in the second half, Nurse elected Martin to enter the rotation in the second half. Martin has seen very little playing time in non-garbage time action since arriving in Philadelphia, but his super athleticism makes him an intriguing chess piece for Nurse, who likes to get creative with elite athletes.
After a start to the season that was downright brutal, in recent weeks Beverley has been very good off the bench. He did not do anything too spectacular in this one, but did just enough of all of the little things. He knocked down a corner three, had a transition layup, pulled three rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked a shot. The Sixers will hope for more of the same moving forward.
When Embiid sat to begin the fourth quarter -- his customary break -- Maxey came in and took over the game. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, doing damage at all three levels. Then Embiid returned to the game and got right back to work. Embiid barely looked like he broke a sweat as he scored over and over on Gobert, who is one of the single best defensive players of a generation. Embiid and Maxey's shared brilliance continues to amaze.
