Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Heat
The good and bad from Philly vs. Miami.
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.
After a short-handed loss in Memphis on Monday night, the Sixers opened up a home-road back-to-back with a battle against A Miami Heat team missing Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and three other rotation players. Let’s get to Pros and Cons.
Pro: Tyrese Maxey dazzles again… this is how the Sixers sustain this
Maxey was the lone positive from Monday night’s loss. Here’s what I wrote about his excellent play and how Doc Rivers can keep it going:
“This is more of an anecdotal point than a statistical one, but Maxey generally appears more assertive and effective offensively without Joel Embiid on the floor. Neither Maxey or Embiid are at fault for this, though -- when Embiid is on the floor, the offense should run through him.
When Embiid is off, though, Maxey is empowered to take control of the game in a way that few can do. Moving forward, I’d like to see Maxey and Embiid’s minutes staggered more than they currently are, and for Doc Rivers to make a point to utilize Maxey in a more aggressive fashion when Embiid is on the bench.”
Tonight, we finally got our wish. Maxey commanded the Embiid-less offense, playing many of his minutes alongside Andre Drummond, and was the main component of a heliocentric offense that revolved around ball-screen actions. Maxey was dominant for stretches of the game, and there’s no reason this can’t continue. When used properly, Maxey is just remarkable.
Con: Georges Niang enters COVID-19 health and safety protocols
News broke this afternoon that Niang, who has given the Sixers reliable production as a backup stretch four, is the latest Sixer to test positive for COVID-19. Niang is reportedly vaccinated, which would mean he can return after 10 days or two consecutive negative tests.
For as long as Niang is sidelined, the Sixers will have to piece together minutes with either very small or very large lineups. The easiest solution is to go small with a guard and three wings on the floor -- which Rivers has done before, and today admitted to the media in his pregame press conference that it’s something he’ll likely be forced to try again.
Rivers used some of those lineups tonight, and also gave some power forward minutes to Paul Reed, who was called up from his G-League assignment this afternoon.
One possible solution Rivers could try -- and don’t call me crazy -- is playing Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond together. The only time they have shared the floor this season was when Drummond pulled off the tip-in of the century against Minnesota. But earlier today, Rivers admitted that it’s a combination they took a look at in training camp, and said he’s “not scared” to try it out in a game. Should Embiid and Drummond ever play at th
Con: Matisse Thybulle played off the court
Riding high after his masterpiece of a performance against Stephen Curry on Saturday night, Thybulle received a loud ovation upon his name being called by Matt Cord. Unfortunately, that was the peak of Thybulle’s night.
Thybulle took on the very important matchup that is Duncan Robinson, Miami’s sharpshooter whose movement and gravity are nearly their only reliable offensive qualities. Thybulle quickly got in foul trouble, missing time he’d usually be on the floor in both the first and second quarters.
Then came the third quarter, where things got really ugly for Thybulle. As Miami used a 2-3 zone defense, they began to completely ignore Thybulle as an offensive player, not paying attention to his presence at all. Thybulle bricked a few wide open threes and was quickly pulled from the game.
Thybulle is a special defender -- we all know that. But time and time again, we are reminded of why he is not someone the Sixers should be relying on to close games. As I wrote about on Saturday night, Seth Curry is not reliable enough defensively to be trusted on both ends. Unfortunately, neither is Thybulle right now.