After a bad loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers wanted to come out and put up a better effort on Monday against the Miami Heat.
They put up an even worse effort and got blown out 137-106 with the 137 points being the most they’ve given up on the season. What’s even worse is that superstar Joel Embiid finished with just four shot attempts in the second half.
Embiid came out on fire and had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter as he quickly wanted to put the Celtics nightmare to bed where he shot just 1-for-11. He finished up with 14 points at the half as the Sixers were within 56-52 at halftime. Then, everything changed in the second half as he only got the four attempts.
“There were a couple of factors that Joel faced,” said coach Brett Brown. “First, they sat in a zone for almost the entire second half and the times that they did go man, they double-teamed him on the catch. In that world, it’s easy to look at the stat sheet, but if you actually see the game, you can understand why his numbers were the way that they were.”
Brett Brown reacts why Joel Embiid only took 1 shot in the 3Q #Sixers pic.twitter.com/PysqqKoXjR
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) February 4, 2020
On the night, Embiid finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, so overall it was a good night. However, when the Sixers needed the offense from him, he was not able to get the ball and he does not agree that the zone or double teams bothered him.
“Nah, if you want to get someone the ball, we can find a way,” Embiid said. “Then again, coaches only can have so much control. They’re not on the court shooting the ball or passing, making plays. All they can do is call plays and we’ve just got to execute.”
Joel Embiid responds to Brett Brown saying that the zone bothered him. He disagreed on that notion. #Sixers pic.twitter.com/wpdzddrExu
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) February 4, 2020
It’s no secret that the zone defenses that teams employ bother this team, but there has got to be a way to get Embiid the ball. He is the team’s crown jewel and he is their best player. He needs to get the ball and be able to score around the basket.
“If you want to get me the ball, we can find a way,” Embiid added. “I don’t know why the ball didn’t…I had a pretty good start and I don’t know what happened then. I’ll have to go back and watch the tape.”
#Sixers center Joel Embiid has 29 points tonight. He scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting in the first 6 minutes. However, he only attempted five shots from that point until the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/tOoPJbmjqr
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 4, 2020
They will now head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Thursday and they will have to win that one to avoid another winless road trip. [lawrence-related id=24875,24856,24846]