The Philadelphia 76ers have been a solid defensive team, for the most part, all season, but one area that continues to bug them is smaller guards who use their quickness and dribble-penetration to get to the rim. This hurts them the most in transition when the team commits turnovers on the offensive end.
In Saturday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they had a tough time defending Cleveland’s Collin Sexton and Darius Garland as the two combined for 53 points. The two of them constantly were getting to the rim and they were running out on the break every chance they could get.
“They missed a ton of shots at the rim that one stretch and so we were fortunate,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We had a chance to win the game, which was a freaking miracle, when you think about it, with the way we played. Overall, especially in overtime, they had so much more energy. They were happy to go to overtime and we were not. You can literally see it.”
The struggles on defense could be due to the lack of energy the team seemed to have, but the transition defense has been an issue all season. The Sixers have to be able to get back and force teams to play in the half-court against them. Cleveland had 26 fast break points and they had 62 points in the paint.
“We’ve been terrible all season,” said Joel Embiid. “We’re still trying to figure it out. Maybe it has something to do with a lot of guys going for offensive rebounds, but then again, we got to make shots and if you miss it, there’s another opportunity to get a second shot.”
At some point, the Sixers have to be able to figure out how to get back in transition while also figuring out how they can stop the smaller, quicker guards. It is still early in the season and the team has been dealing with a lot in terms of injuries and COVID, but the team has to be able to figure it out before it becomes too late.
“We just got to balance it out,” Embiid added. “All season, it’s been an issue and when we get to half-court, it’s hard for other teams to score against us. That’s been the main thing when it comes to our defense.”
The Sixers will host the Indiana Pacers now on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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