In Philadelphia The 2022–23 season began with the Philadelphia 76ers facing two significant challenges. With losses to the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks to start the season, they failed both of them. The Sixers have a tonne of skill, but they also have a tonne of unanswered questions right now.
One concern relates to their defence, which players and coaches alike constantly discussed prior to the season. The Sixers intended to establish a reputation for toughness and excel on defence. They haven’t done a very good job of demonstrating development in either area thus far.
In their Opening Night match, the Celtics defeated the Sixers and particularly controlled the second half. Overall, Philadelphia was unable to keep up with Boston, who shot 14 of 18 from beyond the arc and 8 of 15 from within the paint. They were able to convert close shots at a high percentage, which helped Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Malcolm Brogdon have big games.
Doc Rivers noted that the Sixers’ shell defence, which refers to the backline of defence surrounding the paint, was weak prior to their home debut against Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is arguably the most feared basket attacker in the sport. As they try to become better at that, he said the Bucks were a terrific matchup.
Rivers noted before the game that our turnovers and shell defence were the two things that jumped out to him most. Real games can be helpful in this regard. We did a great job of bouncing back and getting loaded throughout the preseason and training camp. When the real games begin, you become competitive and start embracing your partner. When [Boston] saw it, they always attacked the security guard since they knew nobody had been pulled in.
Rivers’ team understood his advice and focused on preventing the opposition from getting unnoticed inside. The Sixers closed down on the Bucks early on and didn’t give them many open shots at the hoop. But they also needed to make sure they could rebound outside to shooters, as Rivers said before the game.
Doc: If we played like that tonight, Giannis is gonna have one hell of a game, honestly. Milwaukee forces you to do it because if you don t do it, they ll kill you. But it s a multiple effort. You have to be able to pull in and get back out to their shooters.
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) October 20, 2022
The Bucks started off shooting well, connecting on seven out of their first nine attempts. On several occasions, the Sixers did an excellent job of forcing passes back to the perimeter. Milwaukee merely demanded payment.
In general, we covered a lot of them. We just lost a lot of them. It’s hard. We occasionally get sucked in when the 5 is sticking out at the 3, according to Rivers after the game. Just have excellent discipline. Matthews’ final three are merely for discipline. You have a two-point advantage; you cannot let up. We also had a foul that we could have given but didn’t. The first two teams we faced have experienced everything. We’re still getting used to it.
Tobias Harris ignored him as Grayson Allen charged for the basket, which led to Wes Matthews’ 3-pointer that gave the team the lead. The issue was that Embiid had Allen right on his hip and P.J. Tucker right behind him, so there was no need for assistance. Harris attempted to make a play from behind, but instead gave Matthews a clear shot, which he took advantage of.
WESLEY MATTHEWS’ CLUTCH THREE GIVES THE BUCKS THE LEAD WITH 23.8 SECONDS LEFT pic.twitter.com/vsrgYe4Ksi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 21, 2022
Even so, Harris played really well overall, while Tucker battled valiantly against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite being six inches shorter and ten years older than him, Rivers trusted his veteran striker to serve as the sole Greek Freak defence. With less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Sixers attempted to come back from a 13-point deficit against the Bucks, but to no avail.
James Harden turned back the clock and put up two 30-point games that nearly qualified as triple-doubles, which helped the Sixers’ offence get by. Tyrese Maxey has also made a significant contribution, scoring 21 and 15 points in each game, respectively. The offense’s failure to defeat a Bucks squad that shot 40.5 percent from the field and was missing Khris Middleton is undoubtedly concerning. The terrible difficulties of Joel Embiid are a major factor, but so is the disarray when they enter the half court.
Along with important reserves De’Anthony Melton and Danuel House Jr., Harden and Tucker have only spent one offseason with the Sixers, so they can blame the team’s early troubles on the fact that it is still forming. But eventually, that won’t be a sufficient justification. Philadelphia can undoubtedly be given some time to sort itself out, but the results will eventually need to become apparent.
Doc Rivers’ response to the Sixers’ defensive nightmares coming to life against the Bucks revealed that Philadelphia still has a lot of work to do.
