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The Sixers came into Saturday night’s game against the Utah Jazz locked into a three-team tie with the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks for the 7th-through-9th seeds in the Eastern Conference, just a half game behind the slumping Orlando Magic for 6th place in the East.
With Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr all out of the lineup, the time for “pretty” wins has come and gone. Right now, each and every winnable game is a massive deal for a team looking to position themselves for a late-season run when the stars return.
The Sixers received some help earlier Saturday night, with the Rockets pulling out a 123-122 win over the Heat, not to mention the Lakers downing the Magic 105-104. Sadly, the Warriors could not do the same against the Hawks.
Most importantly, the Sixers took control of the game late in the 4th quarter with a 14-4 run, leading to a 126-116 win to cap off a 2-1 road trip. It was a crucial night for a team looking to put themselves in position to avoid the play-in tournament altogether.
Here’s what stood out.
Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe duel to a draw
VJ Edgecombe and Ace Bailey, the 3rd and 5th selections in last year’s NBA Draft, came into the game fresh off of career-highs for each, as VJ Edgecombe dropped 38 on the Kings in Thursday’s win, with Ace netting 33 in Utah’s 128-96 win over the Bucks on the same day.
VJ came alive in the second quarter, with a nice pull-up jumper that looked to get him going. Edgecombe then turned it on with a nice spin move to set up a floater a few possessions later, then hit the Jazz with a euro-step in transition for a sweet lefty layup.
But Edgecombe took a hit to the face with a little over a minute left in the second, and then struggled with his jumper for most of the third. He still found ways to contribute — he crashed the glass once again, made some decent passes running the offense and competed defensively. Edgecombe then came back alive down the stretch, finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, including a dagger three with a little under a minute remaining to put the Sixers up 10.
Bailey struggled early on, shooting just 3-11 from the field at intermission. But the Sixers were far from at their best defensively in this one, caught ball watching time and time again in the second half. Those struggles played right into Bailey’s hands, as the Jazz have done a much better job of utilizing the 6-foot-9 forward as an off-ball threat, rather than the creator he was at Rutgers. Bailey finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting in the third as he became Utah’s primary offensive option.
Edgecombe has found a way to contribute in a multitude of different roles. From his defense, to his off-ball shooting, to the on-ball creation that he showed in his 38-point, 11-assist performance on Thursday, Edgecombe has stepped in and been a plus player for a playoff team right from Day 1. To follow that up with yet another double-double, including bouncing back from adversity to hit some huge shots down the stretch in the fourth, is wildly encouraging.
Turnovers, transition defense problems persist
Utah is one of the few teams whose injury report is more extensive than the Sixers’. From Lauri Markkanen to Jaren Jackson Jr, from Jusuf Nurkic to Walker Kessler, Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier, to even Brice Sensabaugh, Most of the players on the Jazz outside of Bailey that you’ve actually heard of were in street clothes.
So in order to keep it close, Utah would have to manufacture points.
Which made the Sixers’ carelessness with the ball, and their indifference to playing transition defense, all the more frustrating.
At the half the Jazz led the Sixers with a 15-4 edge in points off of turnovers, helping them build a 70-64 lead heading into the break. The Sixers’ lack of discipline in virtually every point of emphasis for transition defense was on full display, from not stopping the ball, to poor communication, to quite frankly just a poor effort to change directions and get back with any sense of urgency, their sloppiness with the ball, compounded with their poor effort getting back, helped keep the out-manned Utah Jazz in the game.
The Sixers did a much better job after intermission, giving up just two points off turnovers in the third, but the first half was tough to watch.
Shooting woes continue
The Sixers have been able to pull out a couple of wins recently despite getting absolutely cooked from the 3-point line, winning both the Brooklyn (3-25 from 3) and Portland (7-25) games despite being outscored by a combined 66 points from the 3-point line in those two wins.
The Sixers were once again trying to overcome a cold 3-point shooting night against the Jazz.
Through three quarters of play the Sixers shot just 5-21 from deep, with Justin Edwards (1-5), VJ Edgecombe (1-4) and Quentin Grimes (1-3) all struggling from deep. Obviously, not every game is going to be like the win over the Kings, where those three combined to shoot 13-24 from deep, but the inconsistency from the perimeter is tough to overcome.
Then again, it’s tough to be consistent from deep when all of your real advantage creators on in street clothes.
I am increasingly of the mindset that I’m not really going to gauge any of Edgecombe, Grimes or even Edwards on their efficiency right now. It’s tough to scale up 3-point looks when all of the shots are coming off the dribble or heavily contested. All that matters right now is finding a way to win. It just would be nice if the Sixers weren’t fighting an uphill battle on the math front each and every time out.
Even still, Quentin Grimes was huge for the Sixers, getting to the rim almost at will. With big games from Trendon Watford (20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) and Cam Payne (16 points) off the bench, the Sixers received a well-rounded team effort.
Notes
Dominick Barlow left the game in the first quarter with what looked like a sprained ankle and did not return.
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