DETROIT–The Philadelphia 76ers got hit in the mouth on Friday when they paid a visit to the Detroit Pistons. The Sixers were coming off an emotional win over the rival Boston Celtics and it looked like the letdown was inevitable.
The Pistons were much more physical than the Sixers. They were more aggressive on the ball screens. They paid more attention to detail. They were attacking the glass. Their offensive execution was crisper.
It led to Philadelphia facing a 16-point deficit on the road against a bad team and they needed to dig deep. They did so by completely flipping the script and leading by as many as 17 in a 114-106 win on Friday.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” said Joel Embiid who had 33 points and 16 rebounds on the night. “They started the game off pretty well. Good for them. We just stuck to ourselves. I always believe teams make shots. They’re not going to make them all game. At some point, they’re gonna start missing, but you got to make them miss it.”
This is what Nick Nurse is preaching for the Sixers. They have to have the mental toughness to be able to battle through challenges. These little challenges are going to continue to be there throughout the course of an 82-game season and in the playoffs. This contest with the Pistons would have been a loss in the past.
The Sixers have grown mentally tough and they are buying into what Nurse is preaching.
“At first, we weren’t being physical enough guarding our own man,” Embiid added. “They have way too many easy ones and then from the last two minutes of the second quarter and the third quarter we did a much better job, but we got a good group of guys. They’re tough mentally, and they believe in each other and so that’s why even when. We went to the bench. We knew what we had to do because of the game of runs and we had a lot of game left.”
On top of the growing mental toughness, the Sixers are leaning on the pass. They had 23 assists on 35 made field goals on Friday as they are continuing to trust each other more on the offensive end.
Tyrese Maxey has huge taken steps forward as a playmaker and Embiid’s assists are up as well.
“That’s what we preach is playing with each other, moving the ball, spacing,” Embiid explained. “I still think we can do a much better job and we missed a lot of easy wide-open shots, too, but that’s what we preach. Just playing with each other, the ball moving, and playing fast and trust that guys are gonna make plays and knock down shots.”
The Sixers will play host to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
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