The Philadelphia 76ers are offensively challenged at the moment. Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers have had to dig deep to score and come up with wins.
The Sixers are coming off a 1-3 road trip during which they scored 102, 94, 121 and 96 points in the four games, respectively. Philadelphia had a big offensive day in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but it was tough sledding in the other three games.
As the Sixers return home for a game before heading back out on the road for two, Buddy Hield touched on the offensive struggles.
“We just got to play with the right mindset, sacrifice for each other, and play Sixers basketball,” Hield told reporters after the loss to the Sacramento Kings. “Tyrese (Maxey) had a good offensive night. We just got to find a way to help him and back him up. It can’t be a one-man show. We can’t just let him try to carry us every night. We got to figure out ways to help him out because he’s been tremendous for us.”
Maxey had a great start in Sacramento. He scored Philadelphia’s first 16 points and 21 in the first quarter. Hield, for example, had a tough night: He scored seven points on 3-for-9 shooting and went 0-for-6 from deep.
The Kings blitzed Maxey, but Philadelphia executed really well. However, it couldn’t knock down any of the open looks it was getting. The NBA is a make-or-miss league. Hield and the Sixers will eventually knock down those open looks and make Maxey’s life easier.
“We got to knock down shots and when it comes to it. We got to make plays for him because he’s handling the trouble over there, they’re trapping him, they’re blitzing him and he’s getting off of it, and making the right reads,” Hield added. “We got to be able to help him out there.”
The Sixers have proven shooters on this roster. It will be on them to knock down those open looks because opposing teams are going to continue to blitz Maxey until Joel Embiid returns.
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