Three Normal Playoff Things: Sixers Vs. Wizards Game One
Three Normal Playoff Things: Sixers Vs. Wizards Game One
The playoffs have begun.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Well, folks… the time has come. After a regular season worthy of plenty of praise, we are officially in playoff mode. Following the conclusion of the Eastern Conference’s Play-In Tournament, the Sixers face the eighth seeded Washington Wizards in the first round.
Here’s what stood out to me in this afternoon’s game one…
##1: Bench unit struggles
Throughout the season, Doc Rivers has relied on lineups heavily populated by reserves. These units would usually be either five bench players, or four bench players with one starter (typically Tobias Harris).
Rivers went to Harris and his bench guys early in the game, and to say things did not go well would be an understatement. Offensively, George Hill and Shake Milton struggled to create. Defensively, the Sixers allowed a major Washington run.
If this pattern holds throughout the series (and the playoffs), Rivers is going to have to be willing to adjust on the fly, something he often refused to do during the regular season. In my eyes, there are two possible adjustments here.
The first is to bring a couple of starters out early on -- let’s say around five minutes into the game -- so they can return later in the quarter and operate bench lineups that are not as heavily stocked with bench players.
The other move I would consider is pretty simple -- instead of Tobias, I would have Joel Embiid be the one who controls these second unit groups. Nothing against Harris, but as we’ve seen during Embiid’s career, he is capable of uplifting suspect groupings in a way that most cannot.
#2: Tobias and Ben in the weight room
With the Wizards starting a three-guard lineup featuring Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and our old friend Raul Neto, the Sixers have a massive advantage in their size, strength and length. This makes them a particularly difficult challenge for a team like Washington.
Today’s greatest beneficiary of this size advantage was Tobias Harris, who scored 28 points in the first half alone, dominating the Wizards at all three levels. Harris saw a heavy dosage of Rui Hachimura, a major liability on the defensive end. He imposed his physicality against Hachimura as well as smaller players, en route to an excellent performance.
Ben Simmons did not do anything special offensively today, save for a few ridiculous passes. But the same way Harris is seeing enticing matchups, Simmons has the chance to assert himself throughout this series. He is mostly being defended by guards -- namely, Russell Westbrook -- and he should leverage his height and strength advantages to get to the rim at will.
#3: Welcome back, fans
We can talk about X’s and O’s forever. But I want to take a moment to acknowledge how wonderful the atmosphere in the building was today.
With the capacity increased dramatically, the Wells Fargo Center was the place to be today. Regardless of how the games turn out, it is going to be so much fun to watch a playoff run hosted in Philadelphia.