Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Lakers
Three observations after Sixers-Lakers.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Tonight, we got a dose of NBA Thursday night primetime action, featuring the Sixers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, some of the buzz was killed when the Lakers ruled out LeBron James due to ankle soreness. But the show must go on! Here’s what jumped out to me tonight:
Pro: Tobias Harris and the importance of processing speed
Harris has been with the Sixers for a few years now, and the book on him is far from ambiguous: when he doesn’t make quick decisions, he stops his team’s ball movement and at times is actively harmful to their offensive flow.
When he is decisive, however, he becomes one of the better, well-rounded scorers you can find.
That’s the version of Harris we’ve seen lately. After scoring a season-high 33 points against the Pelicans on Tuesday night, he continued to gain momentum tonight. Harris scored 23 points on 10-15 shooting from the field, and gave the Sixers boosts in big spots when the Lakers were attempting to get back into the game.
The term “three-level scorer” is often misattributed. But, when at his best, Harris is effectively scoring at all three levels, both in half-court settings and in transition.
Being a quicker processor won’t solve all of Harris’ issues on its own. But the biggest difference between his standout season in 2020-21 and the other, more underwhelming portions of his Sixers tenure is that last year, he did a lot less thinking.
Every player’s mindset is different, and different demeanors work differently for various players. But being an assertive, quick decision-maker rather than a methodical thinker can do wonders for Harris if he can continue to keep himself in that frame of mind.
Con: Embiid finally comes down to earth offensively
Well, it had to happen at some point, right?
Embiid has spent the last month or so dominating every competitor in his path. Finally, he was bested tonight. Anthony Davis got the better of Embiid for most of the contest, overcoming Embiid’s stout defense on one end and containing Embiid’s offense on the other.
I don’t know if this even needs to be said, but there is absolutely no reason to worry about Embiid. He has played at an MVP level for well over a year now, and believe it or not, even the great ones struggle from time to time!
If anything, this is an opportunity to revel in Embiid’s greatness -- on a night when he played fairly poorly relative to his standards, he finished the game with 26 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. What is a career night for many NBA players is below general expectations for Embiid -- that’s as indicative of a sign as any that he is going to be just fine.
Pro: Danny Green impresses in return
It feels as if I’ve written about Green’s absences and subsequent returns a million times already. So let’s hope that for Green’s sake, this is the end of that trend.
Green was on a minutes restriction tonight, one that Doc Rivers called “severe” before tip-off. The Sixers have to gradually work him back into action, and especially given the way his injury-riddled season has gone, it makes sense to play it safe.
Green knocked down two straight threes immediately upon checking into the game, helping stave off a Lakers run in the first quarter. On top of that, he did what I thought was an impressive job defensively as the primary defender on Russell Westbrook whenever the two were both in the game. It’s not as if Westbrook has been the toughest assignment in the league this season, but it’s always difficult playing against someone so physical, aggressive and explosive.
We’ll see if Green can get himself back to the player he is capable of being later in the year. But this was a step in the right direction.