November 09, 2024
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Desperate for even the smallest of victories (or an actual win, perhaps), the Sixers wrapped up their three-game West Coast road trip on Friday night when they took on the struggling Los Angeles Lakers in a game both teams felt like they needed to win to get back on track.
The Sixers, of course, were without Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring), with Paul George still limited (Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before the game that George would likely play somewhere between 25 and 30 minutes). They were heavy underdogs in this game, and it was obvious why in the opening minutes. Nurse's group showed some fight, though, working their way back into the game and briefly into the lead before falling on the wrong end of a 67-second, 8-0 run to close the first half.
In the second half, the wheels fell off entirely. The Sixers went 0-3 on their road trip, and at 1-7, they are tied with the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the entire NBA.
Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 116-106 loss in Los Angeles:
Much has been made of how Nurse would try to manufacture offensive production for the team's remaining two games without Embiid or Maxey. But in the opening minutes of this one, getting stops was a far greater issue.
The Sixers' offense was largely fine early on. But the Lakers scored 21 points in five minutes and change to begin the game, thanks to a barrage of early threes and a few miscommunications.
Given the position the Sixers are in from an offensive perspective, they effectively have zero margin for error as a defense. They also cannot afford to fall victim to a hot shooting night. Nurse's starting five was obliterated by that of Lakers head coach JJ Redick, with the Lakers opening up a quick 11-point lead and forcing a timeout from Nurse.
Nurse made several significant changes from his usual substitution patterns on Friday night, and it was clear right out of the first timeout. Not only did Nurse make an unusual three-player substitution right off the bat, but the players who came into the game also signaled a shift in the team's pecking order.
KJ Martin and Guerschon Yabusele entering the game a bit earlier than expected was not shocking, but rookie Jared McCain checking into the game extremely early was a surprise. More specifically, McCain entering the game ahead of veteran sharpshooter Eric Gordon -- who started the team's opening game and has been a heavy-minute reserve in each contest since -- was a drastic alteration from Nurse.
Moments later, Ricky Council IV joined the action, too, along with backup point guard Reggie Jackson. Suddenly, Nurse had expanded his rotation to 10 players with Maxey sidelined and Gordon out of the picture.
Nurse's players responded, and his bench came up enormous to quickly trim Los Angeles' lead and keep the Sixers within a few possessions. They managed to weather the storm in a way they had simply not shown the capability of doing earlier in the season.
Even as the Lakers continued to get hot from beyond the arc, the Sixers made major inroads on their deficit in the second quarter. It was all powered by a tremendous showing from Nurse's bench: McCain knocked down a pair of triples, Yabusele scored 11 points on perfect shooting (including two three-pointers of his own), Martin knocked down his second triple of the season and, along with Caleb Martin, posted seven early points.
a nice triple for the rook. 👌 pic.twitter.com/gbcBTqhiYs
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 9, 2024
The highlight of the quarter came on a play that capped off a 17-7 Sixers run: George collecting his fifth assist of the first half with a no-look transition dime to Yabusele for a slam that forced a Redick timeout:
MR. COMME DES GUERSCHON. pic.twitter.com/35xKSU7OJy
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 9, 2024
All of the focus is on George's scoring with Maxey and Embiid sidelined, but his ability to create shots for others will be just as important for the time being: he is the only Sixers regular capable of consistently generating advantages off the dribble, the Sixers will need him to utilize that skill.
The Sixers were 67 seconds away from wrapping up their strongest quarter of the season. They had tied the game despite an onslaught from Anthony Davis, who finished the first half with 22 points on 13 shots and no free throws. Andre Drummond was asserting himself in the paint while also collecting three steals and George was leveraging the attention Lakers defenders paid him to enable his teammates to make things happen. Kelly Oubre Jr. threw down this rim-rocking slam:
tuff stuff. pic.twitter.com/cZRnwTG2IE
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 9, 2024
And then... LeBron James converted an and-one against KJ Martin, Kyle Lowry missed a mid-range jumper, Davis scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, Lowry missed a three, Austin Reaves knocked down his fifth triple of the first half and Davis swatted a rushed shot from Kelly Oubre Jr.
Just like that, the buzzer sounded and the Sixers had actually been outscored in a quarter that once appeared to be so promising. They entered intermission trailing a back-and-forth contest, 68-60.
For their fourth straight half, the Sixers' starters looked abysmal. They are routinely being dominated by opposing starting units, and it continued in the third quarter against the Lakers, when an eight-point lead quickly grew to 14. Nurse brought McCain and Yabusele into the game even earlier than he did in the first half, once again looking for a spark.
Lowry, who has shot the lights out all year, was far more aggressive than he typically is seeking out his own shots. But Lowry really struggled to connect from beyond the arc. Oubre had a poor showing on both ends aside from his aforementioned slam. George's facilitating was strong, but he struggled to get in any sort of groove as a scorer for much of this one. It all coalesced into a rough go of it for Nurse's opening five.
There were a few positives in the third quarter: McCain continued to look like he belongs on an NBA floor. The same could be said for Yabusele, who connected on this buzzer-beating three from 39 feet away:
Guerschon Yabusele beats the buzzer from DEEP 🚨pic.twitter.com/HPzuqG3eBG
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) November 9, 2024
KJ Martin -- with his father, 15-year NBA veteran Kenyon Martin right behind the basket -- had an impressive swat of a dunk attempt from Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht:
I don't want to get this block to get lost in time
— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) November 9, 2024
KJ's hops are unreal https://t.co/704sL5klvN pic.twitter.com/FfoKjGwa9G
McCain, Yabusele and KJ Martin were the Sixers' three best players in this one.
But in a quarter the Sixers needed to win, their offense sputtered in a major way and the margin in Los Angeles' favor only grew. The Sixers entered the final frame trailing by 15 points, desperate for a last gasp.
It feels like every day we ask the same question: when are things going to get better? The Sixers continue to struggle to play consistent basketball on either end of the floor, have been devastated by early injuries and are watching their record plummet.
Things need to change in a major way, and they need to change very quickly.
Up next: The Sixers will now return home, with a Sunday night game against the Charlotte Hornets up first before a crucial back-to-back. Joel Embiid is expected to return when the Sixers host the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in the opener of NBA Cup Group Play, and on Wednesday night they will welcome the only remaining unbeaten team in the NBA to town: the 10-0 Cleveland Cavaliers.
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