Tag: Paul Millsap

Player grades: Tyrese Maxey, James Harden lead Sixers on big rally over Cavs

Tyrese Maxey and James Harden lead the Philadelphia 76ers on a big rally past the Cleveland Cavaliers at home.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to continue the hot start to the James Harden era as they welcomed the No. 6 seed Cleveland Cavaliers into the Wells Fargo Center. It was the first real quality opponent the Sixes have faced with Harden so this was a good test.

The Cavaliers certainly put them to the test all game long as they built a lead as large as 21 in the first quarter. They jumped on the Sixers early as they went to a zone defense, which continues to be an issue for Philadelphia, but the Sixers were able to rally behind Tyrese Maxey and Harden and knock off the young Cavs 125-119.

Maxey had 33 and five assists for Philadelphia, Harden had 25 and 11 assists, and Joel Embiid had 22 points and nine rebounds. Tobias Harris added 15 points while Shake Milton had 11 and Georges Niang had 17 off the bench.

Here are the player grades following an impressive win at home:

Player grades: James Harden, Joel Embiid lead Sixers rally past Knicks

James Harden and Joel Embiid led a rally for the Philadelphia 76ers past the New York Knicks.

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers returned home on Wednesday with the anticipation of James Harden’s home debut. The Beard had already played in two road games for Philadelphia, but the Wells Fargo Center awaited him as the team played host to the New York Knicks.

The Sixers did get off to a slow start–trailing by as many as 16–but they stuck with it and they were able to rally for a 123-108 win over the Knicks for their second win over New York in as many games. Joel Embiid had himself another big night with 27 points and 12 rebounds and Harden had 26, nine assists, and nine rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey had 25 points, Tobias Harris added 14 and seven rebounds, Matisse Thybulle added 10 and three blocks, and Shake Milton and Georges Niang hopped off the bench and had six points each.

Here are the player grades following the rally in the win:

Player grades: Joel Embiid, James Harden lead Sixers past Knicks

Joel Embiid and James Harden led the Philadelphia 76ers past the New York Knicks on the road.

MANHATTAN, N.Y.–The Philadelphia 76ers entered Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon with confidence considering they now possess a deadly two-man star tandem. As they got set to take on the struggling New York Knicks, they saw a new opportunity to grow the pairing on the floor.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 37 points and he shot 23-for-27 from the free-throw line with nine rebounds and four blocks and James Harden had 29 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists, and five steals to lead the Sixers to a 125-109 win over the Knicks. Philadelphia was able to continue to grow the duo as New York truly had no answer for them at all.

Tyrese Maxey added 21 points and six rebounds, Georges Niang had six off the bench, and Matisse Thybulle had eight and five rebounds. Tobias Harris struggled with 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting., but he did make some big plays in the fourth quarter.

Here are the player grades following the win in New York City:

Player grades: Sixers knock off Timberwolves in James Harden’s debut

The Philadelphia 76ers knock off the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road in James Harden’s debut.

The Philadelphia 76ers began a new era on Friday when they welcomed James Harden to the lineup for his team debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road. The Sixers wanted to start play after the All-Star break on a good note and they were able to do so in the Twin Cities.

Harden had an impressive debut by scoring 27 points on 7-for-12 shooing and 5-for-7 from deep, 12 assists, and eight rebounds as he got his new teammates involved while also doing what he does and getting to the foul line. The Sixers were able to come away with a 133-102 win on the road and get the Harden era off to a good start.

Joel Embiid did what he does as he led the Sixers with 34 and 10 rebounds, Tyrese Maxey had 28 points, Matisse Thybulle added 11, seven rebounds, and three steals, and Tobias Harris had six and four assists.

Here are the player grades following a win over the Timberwolves:

One thought on every Philadelphia 76ers player at the All-Star break

Here is one thought on every member of the Philadelphia 76ers as they head into the All-Star break.

The Philadelphia 76ers will go into the All-Star break with a 35-23 record and in third place in the Eastern Conference despite all of the adversity. The Ben Simmons saga was a dark cloud hanging over the franchise no matter what it did on the court all season.

With the addition of James Harden after sending Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers hope they can move forward with the new duo of Harden and Joel Embiid and forget about the Simmons saga.

Of course, the Sixers will have to battle with the Nets as well as the Milwaukee Bucks and others in the East, but this is a talented roster that seems to buy into coach Doc Rivers and what he is trying to get across to his team.

At the break, here is one thought on every player on this team’s roster:

Doc Rivers praises Paul Millsap, Danny Green for helping young Sixers

Coach Doc Rivers has been happy with Paul Millsap and Danny Green for helping the younger players on the Philadelphia 76ers.

MILWAUKEE, WI–The Philadelphia 76ers are not the youngest team in the league as they have veterans such as Paul Millsap, Danny Green, and even Joel Embiid who will be 28-years old in March. These are guys who have seen a lot in the NBA.

Millsap and Green, especially, have been the ones who have had a positive influence on the younger Sixers. Green, of course, has been around for over a year and he has a relationship with almost everybody on the roster in order to help them move forward

Millsap, on the other hand, has been around for only a week and has appeared to build a relationship with young Paul Reed. Coach Doc Rivers pointed him out as well as Green for their veteran experience.

“He’s been great,” said Rivers. “You don’t look at our team as young, but we are in a lot of ways and I think guys like Paul Millsap, Danny Green, those guys are invaluable for some of these young guys. It’s been great.”

Millsap, like Green, has seen a lot of success in this league. While Green has the three rings, Millsap has been to the conference finals three times in his career–2007, 2015, and 2020–and that experience is something he can pass on to the younger players. He has also been named an All-Star four times in his career.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=60290]

[lawrence-related id=60296,60293,60286]

Player grades: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey lead Sixers in upset of Bucks

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey led the Philadelphia 76ers past the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.

The Philadelphia 76ers had one final game entering the All-Star break before they can officially welcome James Harden to the team and their matchup just happened to be the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Without Harden, this seemed like this would be a tough night for Philadelphia.

However, Joel Embiid had himself another big night and they got a big flurry out of Tyrese Maxey in the second quarter to help spur the Sixers to a 123-120 victory. Embiid finished with 42 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists and Maxey had 19 with 14 coming in the second quarter to give the Sixers a much-needed push going into halftime. Maxey and the Sixers were able to turn a 12-point deficit in the second quarter into an 8-point halftime lead.

Tobias Harris added 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, Georges Niang had 18 points and six rebounds, and Furkan Korkmaz added 13 and seven rebounds.

Here are the player grades following the upset win:

Doc Rivers says Sixers will use Paul Millsap more in matchup vs. Bucks

Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers plan to use Paul Millsap a bit more when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

MILWAUKEE, WI–The Philadelphia 76ers will wrap their pre All-Star break schedule on Thursday when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks in a big matchup for them. The Sixers will be looking to tie the season series after taking a loss in their first matchup back in November.

The Sixers will look much different on Thursday than they did back in November as they will have both Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris in this contest. They also will not have the likes of Seth Curry and Andre Drummond who were recently sent to the Brooklyn Nets.

The big prize in that deal, James Harden, will not play on Thursday, but Paul Millsap will factor into this one. He made his team debut in Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics when he got some playing time in the fourth quarter with the game already decided, but coach Doc Rivers says the team will use him more in this matchup.

“We’re gonna play him a little bit more tonight (Thursday),” said Rivers before the game. “He’s pretty comfortable in what we’re gonna run for him or what he’s gonna run in so, yeah, we’ll play him more.”

Millsap is a 4-time All-Star in his 16th season in the league and Tuesday was his first game since Jan. 13, so he still will be a bit rusty, but he is a good veteran option who Rivers can rely on as the Sixers continue to grow their team and continue to build towards the postseason.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=60262]

[lawrence-related id=60273,60270,60267]

Paul Millsap ready to learn while contributing to Sixers in a role

Veteran big man Paul Millsap is ready to help the Philadelphia 76ers off the bench as he learns his role.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers swung a huge deal at the trade deadline, grabbing James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets. But he will not be available until after the All-Star break due to a hamstring injury.

The Sixers also obtained four-time All-Star Paul Millsap in that deal. The 16-year veteran had not played since Jan. 13 before he made his Sixers debut on Tuesday in the team’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. He is ready to help contribute, but he also has to learn how coach Doc Rivers runs things.

“Just whatever I see,” said Millsap. “Tonight (Tuesday) for me was just really learning. Trying to get a feel for the guys, get a feel for the game plan, and everything that goes with it. It’s still a whirlwind right now, trying to figure all that out, but, it’s gonna come and wherever I see fit, to where I can get in and help this team, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Millsap came up with nine points on Tuesday in nine minutes in the fourth quarter. He knocked down two 3s and grabbed two offensive rebounds though it was difficult to judge his performance considering it was a blowout and Boston had its third-stringers in the game.

For Millsap, it was just about getting out there and getting a feel for the Sixers and playing NBA basketball again. He had been playing pickup games in Atlanta before the trade, but that is obviously not the same as the NBA.

“One thing that I wasn’t expecting was definitely on the defensive end,” Millsap shook his head. “I had a few guys blow by me, missed a couple assignments, so I was a little slow on that, but that’s gonna come.”

As the Sixers move forward, they will need to integrate Millsap slowly. He is an older player, so he may not be able to play a large number of minutes, but he brings a wealth of experience and he can help this team off the bench. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia utilizes him.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=59894]

[lawrence-related id=60199,60196,60192]

Doc Rivers, Paul Millsap react to Sixers debut in blowout loss to Celtics

Doc Rivers and Paul Millsap react to the veteran’s debut as the Philadelphia 76ers were blown out by the Boston Celtics.

PHILADELPHIA, PA–The Philadelphia 76ers were blown out at home to the hands of the Boston Celtics 135-87 on a night where there were no positives for the Sixers.

The Celtics shot a ridiculous 25-for-45 from deep, they got 29 points from Jaylen Brown and another 28 points from Jayson Tatum and the Sixers made a combined eight triples. Even Joel Embiid only scored 19 points as his streak of 23 straight games with at least 25 points came to an end.

The only positive the Sixers could even remotely take from this game was the debut of Paul Millsap. The veteran big man played nine minutes in the fourth quarter for his first game since Jan. 13 and he scored nine points and he made both of his 3-point attempts.

“He looked good,” said coach Doc Rivers. “After the game, he said he felt pretty good I was surprised. He’s not been playing so he’s been working out every day and he’s been playing pickup games in Atlanta, but this is NBA basketball. He will add some toughness to us, there’s no doubt about that, he’ll be able to step out and make 3s for us at the 5 spot. That’ll be something we work on.”

Millsap made an impact almost right away as he grabbed two offensive rebounds and he then stepped out and drilled a triple. He then followed that up with his second triple and it was just a solid game for somebody who hasn’t played in over a month.

“Man, I felt great,” Millsap beamed. “It felt good to be on the court playing basketball. It’s a little disappointing under the circumstances, but it felt great to be back out there.”

With that being said, the Sixers still aren’t sure how to best use Millsap. When the trade happened, he and Rivers were able to have a conversation, but considering how long it has been since he’s played, the Sixers still aren’t really sure of how best to utilize him.

“Not yet,” Millsap added. “I know we talked on the phone when it happened, but I think now is just getting a feel. I’m sure he don’t wanna put me out there too soon, but I feel great. I feel like I can get out there and contribute, but that’s coach’s call. I’ll leave that up to him. Whenever he calls my name, I’ll be ready.”

Philadelphia will have one final game before the All-Star break on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks on the road so that will be another opportunity for Rivers and Millsap to figure it out.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=59917]

[lawrence-related id=60185,60177,60158]