The Philadelphia 76ers did not have Joel Embiid on Monday and it cost them as they fell to the Detroit Pistons 119-104 on the road. It was just a poor effort all-around for them and they did not take advantage of facing the worst team in the East.
Without Embiid, coach Doc Rivers turned to veteran Dwight Howard who has excelled in a bench role. However, his minutes as a starter continue to be tough sledding for him and the team fell to 0-4 without the big fella on the season.
Howard had five points and three rebounds and was a minus-17 at halftime as he had a tough time fitting in with Ben Simmons and the other starters. Meanwhile, Tony Bradley hopped off the bench and contributed six points and six rebounds and he was a plus-3.
Therefore, Rivers turned to Bradley to start the second half rather than Howard. After the loss, the coach was upset he did not turn to Bradley to start the game due to Howard’s success with the bench unit.
“I just like Dwight with the second group,” said Rivers. “I was kicking myself because I wanted to do that, because Tony hasn’t played a lot. I didn’t start the game and I really thought it was should have done it to start the game and I outthought myself on that.”
The hope is that Embiid will return on Wednesday against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. They will certainly need him to go defend Anthony Davis in order to come away with a win.
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