Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Hawks
Tyrese Maxey returns, Danny Green exits and more.
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.
Welcome back to Pros and Cons! Here’s what’s on my mind following tonight’s playoff rematch between the Sixers and the (depleted) Atlanta Hawks:
Pro: Tyrese Maxey picks up where he left off in return from quad injury
Maxey missed both games in the Sixers’ most recent road trip after having a few very strong performances. Tonight he made his return, and he left a considerable impact on the game.
Maxey looked like his typical self, dictating the pace of the game with his blazing end-to-end speed and keeping the Sixers’ tempo up. He chipped in with his usual three-level scoring, getting to the rim, knocking down a few floaters and connecting from beyond the arc.
You don’t need me to tell you that Maxey’s return is a boon for the Sixers. He’s arguably been the team’s second-best offensive player this season, all things considered, and the Sixers have a major void right now as far as ball-handlers go.
What was interesting, though, is that Maxey came off the bench. He was likely under some sort of undisclosed minutes restriction -- or at least having his minutes monitored closely -- but given how solid he has been this season, this caught me by surprise.
Maxey is certainly not being demoted in the long-term; there is no doubt he’ll return to the starting lineup soon. But even then, the vast majority of his minutes should come with second unit lineups that don’t feature Joel Embiid. As I’ve written about extensively before, Doc Rivers should strongly consider staggering those two’s minutes so that one of them is always on the floor. Not only would this make the team’s offense considerably more consistent, but it would empower Maxey to play a much more assertive style of basketball, which is exactly what the team needs him to do.
Con: Danny Green enters COVID-19 health and safety protocols
Green joins Georges Niang, Shake Milton and Andre Drummond as Sixers sidelined due to COVID-19. Green is reportedly vaccinated and boosted, and he is asymptomatic according to Rivers, so a return may not be too far away.
Regardless, this is a tough blow for a Sixers team already struggling to generate production from their reserves. Green may make puzzling mistakes at times, but he is a solid team defender and a very willing (and good) three-point shooter. He is a stabilizer of sorts, in that you know what you’re getting on both ends of the floor. Green is at times frustrating, but he is also a vital part of this team.
In Green’s absence, expect to see a lot of the just-returned Furkan Korkmaz, plus more of Isaiah Joe and the recently-signed Tyler Johnson.
Con: The Tobias Harris slump continues
Since missing the last two games of last month’s west coast trip, Harris has struggled mightily to get things going offensively. He’s played 36 minutes per game over the 11-game stretch, but is shooting just 41.8 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Things only got worse tonight, as Harris finished the night with 16 points on 5-14 shooting, including 0-6 from beyond the arc. In addition, Harris was dominated in his matchup against John Collins, who caught fire early and essentially got whatever he wanted when Harris was defending him.
There is no doubt that in a vacuum, Harris is very much a solid player. But time and time again, it feels as if he comes up short whenever the Sixers truly need him to give them a lift. That didn’t change tonight.