December 13, 2023
The Sixers hit the road Wednesday night. Their objective: take care of business against the NBA-worst 2-21 Detroit Pistons. The Sixers, who have played down to competition in the past, were able to get the job done easily in this one, thanks to a 41-point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance from Embiid. Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 129-111 win:
The Sixers outscored Detroit 39-26 in the first quarter, and nobody had more of a hand in it than Embiid, who totaled 19 points (5-8 from the field, 9-9 from the free throw line) and eight rebounds (three offensive) in the game's opening 12 minutes. He essentially brute forced his way into obliterating the Pistons' front line. Embiid finished the half with a 30-point double-double.
Embiid was as aggressive as ever on the glass, something Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has spoken at length about wanting to see more of. As a scorer, he leveraged his massive strength advantage over Detroit's front line players to draw fouls over and over, quickly putting them in the bonus and converting at the line every time.
Embiid entered this game averaging a league-leading and career-best 33.4 points per game. He has seemingly gotten even better on the offensive end thanks to his scoring and much-improved facilitating. He continues to provide the Sixers with outrageous production as he begins to build a very real case to repeat as the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
Oubre Jr., whose last game before fracturing his rib came in this very arena in Detroit, came out with his hair on fire. In the first half, he scored 11 points on 4-4 shooting, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
Just as the Pistons started to gather some momentum early in the second quarter, Oubre took off and gave the Sixers some big shots that kept them out of arm's reach. Per the usual, his contributions were not just valuable, but extremely timely. His uncanny ability to deliver in the right moments remains very valuable.
On Friday night, Robert Covington found himself on the outskirts of the rotation, with Nurse opting to instead play Marcus Morris Sr., who has given the team reasonable minutes of late. On Monday, Nurse opted to play each of the three veterans acquired in the James Harden trade -- Morris, Covington and starter Nic Batum -- and use a 10-man rotation instead of nine.
In this one, Nurse stuck with 10, and it feels like the most reasonable option for the time being. Morris is shooting the ball well right now, and Covington gives them some much-needed defensive firepower. If (when?) one of them eventually needs to be removed from the rotation, though, it should be Morris, who simply does not offer as much utility as Covington does.
Harris scored at least 15 points in his first 12 games of the season. It was a remarkable stretch of consistent, multi-faceted offensive brilliance. However, he has struggled mightily of late, not even reaching 15 in a single one of the team's last six contests entering Wednesday night.
Wednesday night may have been a turning point for Harris, who reached 15 points by the beginning of the third quarter. He was assertive, and most importantly, he was decisive. Harris went downhill often, scoring at the rim and in transition while also getting to the free throw line. He also shot the ball very well from beyond the arc and did a good job cleaning the glass.
It is far too soon to decide Harris is back to his early season self. But this was a great step in the right direction.
Bojan Bogdanovic was Detroit's only player who could consistently produce on the offensive end of the floor. Bogdanovic could be a prime trade target for the Sixers, especially if they were to deal Harris in the final season of his five-year, $180 million contract.
Bogdanovic has averaged nearly 19 points per game over the last four-plus seasons on excellent efficiency. He would give the Sixers a lot of offensive juice as someone who can score off the dribble and spot-up for three-point tries at a high level.
With the Pistons owning the worst record in the NBA, one would imagine that the 34 year-old Bogdanovic will very much be available for trade before early February's trade deadline. He's someone worth keeping an eye on.
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