After a slow start in Philadelphia, Joel Embiid took over and delivered a 53-point rampage against the Hornets, powering the Sixers to a 131-113 win.
Here's what I saw.
The Good
• You could definitely tell Joel Embiid had less adrenaline flowing at the start of this game compared to his outburst against the Lakers. I don't necessarily blame him, but the Sixers did need him to find some internal motivation to put a bad Hornets team away. Matched up with Mason Plumlee, he had a great opportunity to go out and dominate Charlotte. It took until the second quarter, but as soon as Embiid seemed to realize his guy had no chance to guard him, off the Sixers went.
The end of the second period was about as effortlessly dominant as it gets on a basketball court, the big man depositing three consecutive and-one finishes through the Charlotte defense. Two of those came at Plumlee's expense, Embiid taking him down to the weight room and baiting him into fouls, and the third came when he ran by Plumlee in early offense. Charlotte's starting center left his teammates helpless at the rim, Kelly Oubre taking a foul that did not stop Embiid from dunking.
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There was some cost to Embiid's absurd first half — the ball did not exactly fly around the floor for Philadelphia and Embiid was the only Sixers player in double figures as they went into halftime. But that's nitpicking that you complain about if the offense goes off of the rails entirely. They had something/someone working, they kept hammering, and they put the game to bed without needing to sweat too much. And besides, I didn't think he was slow with the ball with his hands. They got their best player the ball, and he went to work immediately, just destroying the Hornets in every possible way.
There are definitely times when the Embiid-Harden combination can be a little clunky, both guys thinking they have the better matchup in a switch and acting accordingly. The good news, though, is that they continue to be ruthlessly efficient in pick-and-rolls. Harden holds onto the ball just long enough for Embiid to settle into his money spots around the free-throw line, drops the pass into his shooting pocket, and Embiid rises up for a jumper that might as well be a layup. A midrange-heavy offense isn't preferred for the average player, but Embiid has been on an absolute rampage from that area of the floor all year, and Harden gets him the ball there early and often.
If this game was just slightly more competitive, I think we might have seen Embiid approach (or even surpass) the 59-point classic he put together against Utah earlier this year. He wasn't quite as dialed in as he was in that game, but Charlotte did not exactly make things tough on him, and his touch was buttery smooth all night. In fact, his worst efficiency was somehow on dunk attempts, where he missed two potential posters as he tried to add more highlights to the reel for the season.
Think about that for a second — Embiid scored what might have been the easiest 51 points of his life against Charlotte, hanging around the free-throw line and raining jumpers on the Hornets for what felt like 36 consecutive minutes. And it still felt like there was more pain to inflict if the game flow had warranted it. He was able to check out of the game with a little over two minutes to play, walking to the bench with 53-12-3, the win in the bag, and a standing ovation from the crowd sending him off.
Another great example of how high the bar is for this guy. A lot of players would be happy to put up his halftime total over the course of 48 minutes, and he did it in spite of coming out relatively slow, the Sixers' offense out of sorts to start the game. He wasn't loafing around or disengaged, but biding his time until it was time to accelerate, and he was a runaway train from the second quarter onward. Ridiculous player.
• It wasn't the career-best banger that he turned in two nights prior, but De'Anthony Melton continued his hot streak from deep, bombing away as a catch-and-shoot guy yet again. Melton has a bit more to his shooting than just pure standstill stuff, which gives him more versatility than I think he's probably given credit for. There were some nice relocation moments for Melton in this one, No. 8 sliding into space instead of continuing to wait for the ball as a stationary target.
I think we should also consider Harden's impact on the shot quality for Melton. Even when he wasn't the guy directly assisting Melton, he made some snappy reads that ultimately got the Hornets scrambling or caught them with their pants down. We see Tyrese Maxey's shot quality go way up when he plays alongside Harden, so it's not like this is the only guard on the roster who has ever gained from having a talented playmaker next to them.
We're still quite a long way from start-of-the-season Harden, who put together elite scoring efforts against two of the best teams in the East. But I thought there was more to like from him in this game than the last two, even when results didn't go in his favor. We've seen more catch-and-shoot jumpers from him over the last couple of games, some better pace-setting in transition, and even some effort plays on defense, Harden serving as the last man back when the Hornets tried to get out and run.
Their lead guard didn't need to do much besides get Embiid the ball where he wanted it, and that was just fine. This was about as easy of a win as you're going to get.
• After a sleepy start, I thought Philadelphia's starters did a nice job of pushing the pace and finding ways to create easy buckets before Charlotte could get set. Tobias Harris was one of the leaders of that movement, serving as both a lane-filler and a fast-break ballhandler, benefitting from being one of the first guys down the floor.
The Sixers even got some playmaking from unexpected places in transition. Embiid did plenty of fast break operating during the Simmons-less stretch to start last season, but it has been rare to see him do much transition-creating of his own this year. He managed to come up with a nice assist to Harris on the break midway through the second quarter, part of a 10-0 run that put Philadelphia out in front where they would stay for good.
• The Sixers have been getting absolutely crushed in the Embiid-less minutes lately, so it made some sense for Rivers to try out Montrezl Harrell at the backup five for this one. On top of what he gave them on offense, which was some nice combination play with Milton and the other bench guys, I thought Harrell was fairly engaged on defense. He even blocked a shot after Matisse Thybulle let Terry Rozier go by him early in the second quarter, making a sharp rotation to get in a position for the swat.
I know we all want to get on a float for the Paul Reed victory tour, but the Sixers can't simply play him every night no matter the matchup or how poorly it goes with him on the floor. Harrell gives them a different skill set, a change of pace, and a natural means to give Reed time to take things in from the sideline. If Rivers just goes to Harrell constantly, it's a different story, but no problem with switching it up on Sunday night.
• There have been plenty of times during Doc Rivers' tenure that all-bench lineups have been crushed by the public, a group that includes me. Sunday night, they were a big part of Philadelphia waking up out of their slumber, finally playing at a level fitting of an NBA team.
It was the Shake Milton show early, as he got to work doing exactly what he's been doing for most of the last few weeks. As the undisputed leader of that second unit, he had opportunities to attack the Hornets out of DHOs and pick-and-rolls, and given the defensive options they have at the point of attack, he lived in and around the paint for most of the first half.
What set that group apart, though, was the free-flowing brand of basketball they played together. There was cutting, movement, and a sense of togetherness you did not feel when Philadelphia's starters opened the game in sluggish fashion. Perhaps that's more an indictment of the starters than a reflection of great bench play, but it did help the Sixers get rolling.
The Bad
• Georges Niang being back in the lineup is a very good thing for the Sixers, but he was a foul machine in his return game. He set a screen that would have made Kevin Garnett proud early in the fourth, but he did not get the whistle Garnett did during his career. Tough break.
• Thybulle fouling somebody three seconds after checking into a game is almost impossibly on-brand. He got a chance to play early minutes on Sunday, and he did just about nothing to impact the game.
• The Hornets freaking stink, man, and they're a tough watch on top of that. LaMelo Ball helped them on both fronts, so his injury has been particularly devastating for their competitiveness and their ability to entertain anybody. It's a shame the Sixers lost a shorthanded game to them before Thanksgiving because this is a team you should sweep for the season with the state they're in.
The Ugly
• PJ Tucker somehow front-rimmed a corner three in the first quarter of this game. Can't say you see that often.
• I swear this is a thing that happened — the Hornets doubled Embiid on the left block, Harden passed out of a wide-open three at the top of the key, and Melton still got a wide-open three one pass away. How do you just not cover two different guys on the perimeter?
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