The Philadelphia 76ers are in a
state of dilemma right now.
As Philadelphia enters Game 2 in
their best-of-7 series against the New York Knicks on the road at
the Madison Square Garden, it has them wondering for adjustments
and key plays with hopes of tying the series.
Although Nick Nurse’s defensive
scheme on the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, his buddy Josh Hart happened
and knocked down three crucial three-pointers in the 4th quarter of
Game 1 to bury the Sixers. Brunson was held to 22 points on 8-26
shooting, but Hart had 22 points himself as well.
That’s bad news for the Sixers.
The Knicks star point guard have been playing at an all-NBA level
this season thus far and it is clear that the game plan is to send
guys at Brunson for him to see bodies and make him work for his
points. However, when someone else has a performance as big as
Hart’s in Game 1, that would be difficult for the Sixers to
overcome.
On offense, Tyrese Maxey
shouldered most of the offensive load in the 4th quarter after
reigning MVP Joel Embiid injured his knee in the first half. Embiid
came to play in the second half, but was visibly not his usual self
physically, missing his patented midrange jumpers and some layups
around the basket. He ended up finishing the game with 29 points
but shot an abysmal 8-22 from the field. Maxey himself scored 33
points but played a game-high 43 minutes for the game. This is
something the Sixers should monitor because as young and spry as he
is, Maxey is essential for them down the stretch especially if this
extends down the line.
How could the Sixers bounce
back? Heading into tonight’s Game 2 and moving forward into the
series, here are some of the things the Sixers could do to steal
one on the road and possibly win the series.
Play Buddy Hield
more
The Sixers’ midseason
acquisition only played for 10 minutes and did not score at all.
That is uncharacteristic for someone you brought in for this exact
reason: to have more weapons around Embiid in the playoffs.
Although a defensive liability at times, Hield’s gravity as a
shooter and threat from the outside is more than enough to
compensate for those.
Hield is a proven knockdown
shooter who can only help space the floor for Embiid when he’s in
the middle of the floor. If given the opportunity and he hits his
shots, the paint will open up even more which will give Embiid and
Maxey more room to operate.
“Buddy (Hield) didn’t get much
of a chance last game,” Nurse said on Sunday. “He did have a couple
of plays there. He didn’t play good. It’s a game where you can’t
extend minutes when a guy has three or four mistakes, but I do say
this he’ll be a factor in the series. He could have just as easily
made that wide-open 3, and then hit another one the next time down
the floor like he does, but he didn’t. We kind of gave him this
chance to impact it and we had to get back to somebody else, but
he’ll be a factor.”
Involve Tobias Harris on
more offensive actions and build up his
confidence
As it stands right now, Tobias
Harris’ confidence has looked to be cooked and nowhere to be found.
He has been playing out of sorts over the past few games,
oftentimes getting lost in translation within the flow of the
Sixers offense at times. With Embiid demanding the ball and the
attention most of the time and Maxey setting the offense up, this
leaves Harris with little to no opportunities to have any sort of
offensive rhythm.
Harris is also not the role
player specialist like Kelly Oubre who brings defensive toughness,
hits the occasional threes, and provides the timely cuts, or Nic
Batum’s lockdown one-on-one defense coupled with his three-point
marksmanship. Harris is someone you make plays for to set him up.
He has shown that capability over his career, being the third
option on offense. Harris’ skill set allows him to attack off the
catch, hit some catch-and-shoot threes here and there, and run some
pick-and-rolls with certain guys.
If the Sixers want to have a
chance to bounce back in Game 2, Harris should be more involved on
offense no matter how Nick Nurse and his staff would do it. A
30-million-dollar player like Harris can’t just camp in the corner
or wings ball-watching and watch the ball come to him, he should be
utilized in a way his strengths as a player can help the
Sixers.
Bench production is a
must
In Game 1, the Sixers only had 5
bench points. That can’t happen again. Even though they are down
two key rotation players in DeAnthony Melton and Robert Covington,
both the coaching staff and the players themselves need to do a
better job involving players on offense and stepping up to the
plate. This is the playoffs and everyone has to contribute
something.
After scoring 20 points against
Miami, Batum only had 3 points in Game 1. Hield wasn’t even able to
score a point. Backup big Paul Reed has to be more aggressive
especially now that Embiid is not 100%. Cam Payne has to hit one or
two shots when he comes in, just to change the complexion of the
game a little bit. Maybe Nick Nurse could reach a bit deeper into
his bag of tricks and activate someone like Ricky Council for an
energy boost after the rookie played a good stretch to end the
season.
The bench has to help the
starters at some point in the series. But it has to start in Game 2
– because it takes everyone to win a playoff basketball
game.
