1 wins and 4 losses, 12th in the East. Since the beginning of the new season, the 76ers have been disappointing. They started the game with a three-game losing streak and scored their first win against the underdog Indiana Pacers. After the 76ers lost to the Toronto Raptors 109-110 on the road on October 27, only the Orlando Magic had a worse record in the Eastern Division than the Philadelphia 76ers. A team that has a chance to hit the championship, that's it?
Over the years, the Raptors have been Joel Embiid's nemesis. Earlier on the Raptors, there was an interior player like Mark Gasol who was both tall and rich in ball business, and his most classic game in defending Embiid was to defend the future NBA scoring champion on 0-of-11 shooting, 0 points from the field. After Gasol Jr. left, Nick Nas's unorthodox defense also confused Embiid, and the Raptors are full of long-handed "Spider-Man" who can interfere and trap him from any angle. In the playoffs last season, although Embiid led the 76ers to a 4-2 elimination of the Raptors, the whole process was quite difficult.
Facing this unique opponent, assuming you didn't know the outcome of the game just to tell you that Embiid scored a team-high 31 points in less than 20 shots, you might think the 76ers played pretty well. However, the 76ers performed like every 76ers game we've seen this season, revealing laziness and casualness.
"We literally gifted them shots." 76ers head coach Rivers said after the game. The word "gift" is a fitting description of the 76ers' poor fast-offense defense, with the Raptors scoring 29 points on the team's fast offense and 21 points on turnovers, while the 76ers scored 13 points on turnovers. Rivers said: "We started slowly in the first quarter and their key players took their chances. In the early days we gave them shots. We hit 51 per cent from the field, and if we play well, it's very good. To open up space, play faster and don't make mistakes. Embiid scored 31 points, Tyrese Maxey also contributed 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and the team hit 16 three-pointers, but no matter how much offensive firepower the 76ers can contribute, no team in the NBA can defend so badly, give opponents so many easy scoring opportunities and continue to win. If nothing changes, the 76ers will continue to lose more games.
Take a look at the following paragraph, and guess why Fred Van Vleet clapped his hands in a hurry? Because Presches Achiuwa did not pass immediately after grabbing the rebound. VanVleet's urgency seemed unnecessary in this situation, and not long after the second quarter, the 76ers had no one to grab offensive rebounds and all the defenses, and they had enough time to match the defense.
As an experienced point guard, VanVleet clearly knows the game better. He knew all he had to do was dribble the ball through the half, then take advantage of the 76ers' lack of position and pass the ball to Chris Boucher in the bottom corner.
The 76ers should have had plenty of time to do a good job of area stalking, but they retreated so lazily that they didn't form an effective defense. Pay attention to Embiid's position, maybe he wants to defend Achiuwa, Daniel House is not too much, he only has Van Vleet in front of him. In the end, it was Maxi who rushed over and made a last-ditch effort to block Bouccher's shot. Those details seemed inconsequential until the 76ers finally lost the game.
In this game, the Raptors shot 54.8% from the field, including 43.2% from three-point range. "We're not doing what we're supposed to do." Rivers said.
It stands to reason that the current roster of the 76ers should not play so badly. This offseason, Harden took the initiative to cut his salary, and the 76ers came with a wave of big signings, signing P.J. Tucker, House, and Melton. These people are generally credited with improving the team's strength, especially Tucker's arrival, which significantly increased the 76ers' defensive hardness, but the team did not form a strong team that should have defended. After five games, their defensive efficiency can only rank 25th in the league, and center Embiid has a lot of responsibility as an important part of the defense. Embiid has recently focused on the offensive end, basically ignoring the defense, and not even protecting basic defensive rebounds as a center. According to current technical statistics, Embiid's personal defensive efficiency is only 116.4, ranking close to 200th in the league, and only sends a total of 1.8 steals + blocks per game, to make a simple comparison, Lakers star Anthony Davis can send 5.1 steals + blocks per game.
Second, the 76ers' two core players, Harden and Embiid, also did not play as expected on the offensive end. The two are caught in a strange circle of ups and downs, and if Harden plays well, then Embiid is doing very low, and vice versa. In the opener against the Celtics, Harden crossed over like his Rockets self, cutting 35+8+7 and standing at the free throw line 12 times. Later against the Bucks, Harden had another 31 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Embiid, on the other hand, was out of the game. In the next three games, Embiid scored 40, 31, and 31 points, and Harden not only scored less than 20 points, but also reduced his shots. After five games, Harden has only one game with more than 20 shots. If Harden is still in bad form last season, then there is nothing to say, but this season's Harden is in significantly better physical condition, but the offensive proportion has dropped after two 30+ games.
During training camp in September, it was reported that Rivers instilled in Harden in practice his philosophy, hoping to establish Embiid as a central player on the offensive end and Harden finding a balance between individual offense and passing organization.
Rivers said at the time: "We have a lot of players who can score, and in Houston Harden has to score all the time, and here, our first choice is Embiid, and Harden is not even the second choice." Maxey was our main choice, and Harris was also an option for us, so yes, Harden didn't need to shoot as many baskets. ”
This game against the Raptors perfectly corresponds to this passage. Embiid is the first choice for offense, Maxi is second choice, and Harden just needs to tandem offense to open up space. Of course, Rivers envisioned Harden to be able to take over the game at a critical moment. It's a pity that the real game is not playing NBA 2K, there are no key goalscorers and microwave badges to give players a goal bonus.
"We eliminated them (the Raptors) in the first round of the playoffs last season, right? There's no doubt that we didn't play with the same energy as they did in this game, which was disappointing. Rivers said. Next, if the 76ers are still doing what they saw in these five games, they will continue to be disappointed.