PHILADELPHIA – As the Sixers have become far too familiar with over the last few years, the New York Knicks coming to town means their rabid fans follow. The home-court advantage usually enjoyed in Philadelphia is far less impactful. On Saturday afternoon, it was the same Knicks fans who took over this arena during the playoffs two years ago making their voices heard as their team outperformed the Sixers on the margins.
For a half, the Sixers were able to block out the noise – more specifically, it was Joel Embiid, whose 28 points prior to intermission enthralled the Sixers fans in attendance and powered the Sixers to a lead. But the Sixers fell short of improving to 3-0 against New York this season, with quite possibly their most catastrophic third quarter of the season. A home game became a road game as Sixers misses and turnovers led to Knicks baskets; it felt like any time the Knicks did not convert they would grab an offensive rebound and get the job done the next time.
In a bit over an hour, the tenor of the arena changed, and so did the general sentiments on Embiid and the Sixers. For 15 minutes at halftime, it was worth thinking about how far Embiid had come – and how much more he could improve as he tries to return to the form that won him an NBA MVP. While that is not inherently untrue because disaster ensued for Embiid and the Sixers in the third quarter, their massive struggles as New York stormed ahead were awfully concerning.
The Sixers made a valiant push in the fourth quarter to get their fans back in the game – they got the deficit all the way down to one possession with a chance to tie the game – but ran out of gas there. The 30-13 third quarter in New York's favor created too significant of a margin to overcome late.
Takeaways from a brutal and chaotic 112-109 Sixers loss – and some important information on what is to come soon roster-wise:
A tale of two halves for Joel Embiid
In the Sixers' thrilling and emotional overtime win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday, the headliner was not Joel Embiid's triple-double – 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists – but his minutes total. Embiid logged nearly 46 minutes, passing his season-high before playing the entirety of overtime. Just a few weeks removed from still not playing two games in any three-day span, Embiid has now done exactly that several times in his healthiest and most productive stretch of basketball in over two years.
The latest step in Embiid's progression, one that seemed unfathomable a short time ago: following up a 45-minute game with a vintage Embiid half on Saturday. Considering this battle with New York was in the afternoon, this was the shortest turnaround between appearances that Embiid has experienced all season, and it came after a marathon of a game.
Embiid's initial response: scoring 28 points in the first half alone, making 10 of his 12 shot attempts and answering every defender and coverage the Knicks threw at him. In the first quarter, backup center Adem Bona was at the scorer's table waiting to check in for Embiid, who had been in the midst of a terrific opening act. Embiid urged Bona to return to the bench, and a minute later threw down this thunderous slam:
After scoring 15 points in just under 10 minutes to start the game, Embiid returned with seven minutes left in the second quarter – the Sixers outscored New York by five points during that prolonged stretch with him resting – and added another 13 points. Mitchell Robinson, historically one of the better Embiid defenders in the NBA (a relative title, of course), had nothing for him. Embiid pummeled Robinson and the Knicks, and it looked like the best version of one of the best players in recent NBA history:
Once the third quarter began, Embiid looked like a player who did not have enough in the tank to lead him team across the finish line. He missed all three shots he took; none of them were close. Robinson's length bothered him. He could no longer find any kind of groove.
In a last-ditch effort to keep his team alive, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse went to Embiid for the entirety of the fourth quarter – not something he likes to do – and early on in the final frame, Embiid took a hard fall and was in significant pain. He stayed in the game, but his mobility deteriorated even more. He did his best to gut it out, and did make some important hustle plays down the stretch that kept the Sixers' comeback effort alive until the final seconds.
But there was no doubt: Embiid did not have the same pep in his step from wire to wire on Saturday that powered him on Thursday.
Expect a roster move shortly
Two-way power forwards Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker have been godsends for the Sixers this season, keeping the team afloat with helpful minutes at the four. Barlow has had higher highs – he just moved to the bench after starting 29 of his first 32 games – while Walker profiles as a situational piece now that the Sixers are at full strength; Nurse commented before Saturday's game that all Walker has done is give the Sixers good minutes and he was hoping to get the 23-year-old back in the mix.
The Sixers must make a move before their next game to keep relying on the two players Nurse raved about before Saturday's game, commending them for the quality of their minutes and their ability to handle any role with no questions asked. Barlow has been fine with his move to the bench, while Walker has kept his head up amid a few removals from the rotation, remaining ready for his next opportunity.
"Those two guys, it's pretty easy," Nurse said. "They've been nothing but hardworking, appreciative. Never really any ups or downs with those guys, they're just super happy to get out there. And they're the same whether they play 30 minutes or zero after the game."
While two-way players signed before the season can be active for 50 games without having their contracts converted to standard deals, a team can only have two-way players active 90 total times while their main roster is below 15 players. Walker has been active 44 times and Barlow has been active 34 times. But the Sixers, who have been at 14 standard players all season, reached the aforementioned 90-game mark on Saturday between Barlow, Walker and the since-waived Hunter Sallis.
In order for Barlow and Walker to be available next time the team suits up, the vacant spot on the Sixers' main roster spot must be filled. The obvious solution would be to pick one of Barlow or Walker to convert to a standard contract they have both clearly earned; with the roster spot filled they could run out the remaining individual days on the player not yet converted.
But another option that is at least as likely is the Sixers signing a player to a 10-day contract, temporarily getting the roster to 15 players and rendering the 90-day rule irrelevant for the time being. The Sixers could ink a player to two 10-day deals in a row and, in turn, kick the can far enough down the road that they would not have to perform any conversions until after the trade deadline.
In some way, shape or form, the roster of this team is going to look different on Monday.
Odds and ends
Two additional notes:
• Early in the second quarter, a fan named Tommy swished a half-court shot to win $10 thousand in cryptocurrency. A crowd that was otherwise split between rooting for the Sixers and Knicks seemed unified behind Tommy:
• Saturday's game marked old friend Guerschon Yabusele's first visit to Philadelphia since departing for the Knicks via free agency over the summer. The Sixers took plenty of heat for declining to match the two-year offer New York made Yabusele, but it is now the Knicks regretting how his free agency played out. Yabusele has been a major disappointment in New York, and he appears very likely to be traded after falling out of head coach Mike Brown's regular mix.
Up next: With six consecutive home games now in the rearview mirror, the Sixers will head to Charlotte to kick off a back-to-back on Monday against the Hornets before returning home for another three games in Philadelphia.
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