Looking to rebound after Tuesday night's tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the short-handed Sixers returned home for a Wednesday night contest against the similarly injury-ridden Memphis Grizzlies. Despite controlling most of the game, the Sixers blew what should have been an easy win, falling 115-109.. Here is what jumped out from another disappointing defeat:
Fourth quarter collapse sinks Sixers... again
For the second night in a row, just when the Sixers appeared to be on the verge of a relatively stress-free victory against a lowly opponent, they completely cratered in the fourth quarter. Their offense once again became stagnant, and the main culprit was Tobias Harris, who struggled all night long. The Sixers were also pummeled on the glass in the fourth quarter. They once led by as much as 15 points, but were completely dominated on both ends of the floor in the closing moments of the game. Even for a short-handed Sixers team, this one is unacceptable. Every game is critical as the Sixers try to avoid falling into the NBA's Play-In Tournament. A late effort like this one is brutal.
Paul Reed returns to starting lineup and (mostly) shines
Mo Bamba started each of the last three games, moving Reed to the bench — where he has excelled to a fascinating degree. Reed may be optimized as a backup center, but the Sixers are not optimized with Bamba in the starting lineup. Bamba's productivity level and playing time have decreased in each of his three starts — culminating in him playing fewer than a dozen minutes in Brooklyn. Not only is Reed a more productive center, but Nurse also seems more comfortable going to extremely small lineups than he does entrusting Bamba with meaningful minutes — Harris, Nic Batum and KJ Martin all have seen time manning the middle.
Reed had a tremendous showing, particularly in the first half, where he was all over the place defensively — in a good way — and did his job on the glass and around the rim. He even knocked down a few jumpers, making the Grizzlies step out and consider him somewhat of a threat outside of the paint. His only wart in this one was his fouling, which led to his exodus from the game with about four minutes remaining.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. impresses
In his home debut, the 26 year-old guard got off to a fantastic start. He knocked down each of his first three shot attempts, two of them coming from beyond the arc. He applied pressure to the ball as a defender, and was also able to set up his teammates for good looks. Dowtin appears to know what he's doing and have a good head on his shoulders. In retrospect, it is not hard to imagine why Nurse had trust in him — he clearly is a sound decision-maker, and as a backup point guard, that is half the battle.
Martin makes good on an opportunity, but Bamba still lingers
Sixers' head coach Nick Nurse went with Martin as his backup center, and in the first quarter he was rewarded with a handful of impressive plays. Martin threw down an impressive put-back dunk upon checking into the game, and on the next possession knocked down a three from the top of the key. He also made an acrobatic play to assist a Buddy Hield triple — one of three assists he posted in just under eight minutes of play. Later on in the first half, Martin played alongside Reed as a wing.
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To start the second quarter, Nurse did not return to Reed immediately, instead calling upon the services of Bamba for about four minutes. Bamba is evidently not entirely out of the mix at center, but time is very much running out for Bamba in his quest to prove he is a consistently viable option. While he will always present as an interesting option in theory, the results are just not there.
Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to excel in bench role
Nurse has made a point to keep Oubre out of the starting unit in recent games. His infusion of energy helps this team find some extra juice, and in today's day and age, minutes totals and finishing lineups matter much more than starting fives. Oubre was excellent in each of the team's last two games, including a 30-point performance in Brooklyn. Not only was he tied for the most points on the team in the first half against the Grizzlies with 15, but he actually led the team in minutes despite not starting, logging 17 minutes — including the entire second quarter.
Nurse is on a quest to figure out the perfect way to optimize Oubre, and he may be getting there —the veteran swingman's ability to pressure the rim and quick trigger from beyond the arc can make him a tough cover at times, and Nurse appears to be tapping into his greatest strengths — something he explained was his goal when speaking to the media after the loss in Brooklyn.
Injury updates
While Nurse provided no update on the health of Joel Embiid, the team did tell reporters before the game that Robert Covington — who has been out with a knee injury since Dec. 30 — is planning to begin on-court activities in the next 7-10 days, and that he will be reevaluated in approximately one week.
Meanwhile, De'Anthony Melton — who aggravated a back injury three games into his return from an 18-game absence — will not be reevaluated for another two weeks or so, marking another significant setback for a player who started all 33 games he played in before the injury. This is Melton's second back injury in as many years, and the timing could not be worse for the 25 year-old guard who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
On top of the players the Sixers are missing due to injuries — Embiid, Covington, Melton and Tyrese Maxey (the Sixers are calling his concussion "mild"), Kyle Lowry was given the night off after playing 36 minutes in Brooklyn. That left the ball-handling duties to Cam Payne, who was noticeably winded after several short stints in Brooklyn due to an illness that held him out of the prior game. The Sixers did not list Payne on the injury report leading into this contest, indicating improved condition. Backing up Payne was Dowtin.
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