Tag: Sixers

Zhaire Smith to miss Friday’s Blue Coats game with knee soreness

While the issue doesn’t appear serious, any missed time serves to delay Smith’s potential return to the Sixers.

The Philadelphia 76ers recently sent second-year guard Zhaire Smith to their G League affiliate Delaware Blue Coats to take part in its training camp and to get consistent minutes with the team as he struggled to crack the big club’s rotation. Now, it looks like that plan has had a bit of a hiccup.

Per Keith Pompey of the Inquirer, Smith will sit out Friday’s game against the Long Island Nets with what is being called “right knee soreness.” Pompey goes on to report that Smith with receive treatment on Friday before being re-evaluated on Saturday while stressing that the move is precautionary and that the organization doesn’t expect Smith to be out for long.

While it’s encouraging that this doesn’t appear to be a serious issue, it’s less than ideal that Smith is missing time due to the fact that the sole reason he was sent to Delaware was so that he could get consistent playing time with hopes of a return to the Sixers at some point.

Adding to the concern is Smith’s injury history. His rookie season was derailed by a foot injury and subsequent allergic reaction that caused him to only be able to play in six NBA games last season.

Hopefully, the issue is as minor as the organization is saying and Smith will respond well to the treatment and be back on the court quickly. The Sixers still hope Smith can be a part of their long-term plans, and every game he’s able to play in Delaware is a step towards making that a reality. [lawrence-related id=18783,18777,18005,17997,17543,17494]

Former Sixer Markelle Fultz expects trash talk against Sixers

Fultz is expecting to hear it from his former teammates and is ready to respond.

Former Philadelphia 76ers’ number one overall pick Markelle Fultz will face his former team for the first time Wednesday night when his Orlando Magic host the Sixers.

Fultz was traded from the Sixers to the Magic last season in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and picks after a bizarre start to his career that was marred by injuries and he said/she said back and forths between the Sixers and Fultz’s camp.

As he prepares for his first meeting against his former team, Fultz is ready to hear some trash talk, especially from Joel Embiid, as he relayed to OrlandoMagic.com’s John Denton.

We may be deprived of getting the full show, as Embiid will be sitting out the game to rest, but Fultz doesn’t expect that to keep the big man quiet. As Denton noted, Fultz says he’s ready for it and has some talk of his own for his former teammates regardless of whether or Embiid is in the game, all in fun of course.

It certainly makes for an interesting dynamic in Wednesday’s game. Fultz is averaging 9.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and two rebounds this season. [lawrence-related id=19222,19207,17323,10567,10551]

Brett Brown reveals Tobias Harris played through illness against Cavs

The news drastically alters the way Harris’ performance against the Cavs is viewed.

The Philadelphia 76ers eeked out a 98-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night, a game in which Tobias Harris struggled mightily.

Harris finished with just eight points on 4-17 shooting. He missed all 11 of his attempts from beyond the arc and had just five rebounds and four assists. After the game, head coach Brett Brown was asked about Harris’ performance, and it turns out there was a pretty good reason for his struggles.

Brown noted that Harris has been battling an illness and that he had prepared for the game under the assumption that Harris wasn’t going to play. He didn’t learn that Harris would be available until the team’s walkthrough when Tobias told him “I want to go.”

The revelation makes it easier to understand Harris’ struggles on Tuesday night, and it’s commendable that he wanted to tough it out and be out there, especially with Al Horford already sitting the game out to rest.

As Brown noted, Harris was huge down the stretch for the Sixers, scoring two buckets and assisting on Joel Embiid’s game-winning dunk as the team closed the game on a 6-0 run. For him to not only battle through not feeling well but to stay in the game mentally despite his struggles is admirable.

Brown’s comments certainly serve to alter the way Harris’ night is viewed. Hopefully, he’ll be feeling better soon.

Sixers escape with 98-97 win over Cavaliers

It was ugly but the Sixers gutted out a hard-fought win over the Cavaliers Tuesday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers got a scare from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night but were able to escape with a one-point victory.

Despite struggles shooting the ball, the Sixers managed to build a six-point halftime lead. The Cavs were able to chip two points off the margin during the third quarter and then started the fourth with a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead and prompt some boos from the home crowd.

The teams traded blows through the middle part of the quarter after the Sixers halted the run. A Collin Sexton basket with 3:34 left in the game pushed the Cavs’ lead back to five and there was uneasy energy flowing from the Wells Fargo Center crowd.

However, that would be the last points of the night for Cleveland, as the Sixers ended the game on a 6-0 run that was capped by a Joel Embiid dunk with 13 seconds left that put the Sixers in front. Philadelphia was able to dodge a bullet on an open look from Kevin Love and the clock ran out as the teams battled for the ensuing loose ball. You could almost hear the exhale coming out of Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid led the way and was the only really bright spot for the Sixers. He finished with 27 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal.

Josh Richardson struggled mightily from deep, as did most of the Sixers, but he chipped in 17 points and five assists and did a good job knocking loose the rebound of Love’s final shot.

Ben Simmons returned from his shoulder injury to contribute 15 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Furkan Korkmaz slotted into the starting lineup in place of the resting Al Horford and had 10 points and four rebounds.

Tobias Harris shot a ghastly 0-11 from beyond the arc and was limited to just eight points. However, he added five rebounds and four assists and was involved in each of the three baskets on the Sixers’ 6-0 game-closing run. It was good to see him stay involved mentally despite the shooting struggles. Head coach Brett Brown mentioned after the game that Harris has been under the weather, so credit to him for toughing it out and making plays down the stretch.

Mike Scott provided nine points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Matisse Thybulle returned to the rotation and added three points on 1-1 shooting, three blocks, two steals, two rebounds, and an assist.

It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. It was good to see the Sixers put the clamps on defensively down the stretch when they really needed to and to watch them battle through a rough offensive night and gut out a win. In addition, the design and execution of the play that got the go-ahead bucket was excellent.

The team is now 7-3 on the season and a perfect 4-0 at Wells Fargo Center. It’s a quick turnaround for the Sixers, who get their first back-to-back of the season when they take on the Magic tomorrow in Orlando.

 

Sixers take significant tumble in latest ESPN power rankings

After a disappointing West Coast swing, the Sixers fell hard in the latest NBA power rankings from ESPN.

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After starting the season with five-straight victories the Philadelphia 76ers were riding high. As a result, they had climbed all the way to the top of ESPN’s NBA power rankings. But a lot can change in a week’s time, and after a thoroughly disappointing West Coast trip during which the team dropped three out of four contests, the Sixers have suffered a precipitous fall in this week’s edition of the rankings.

Philadelphia has fallen all the way to the eight spot, trailing the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Celtics, Jazz, Nuggets, and Raptors. Two of those teams, the Jazz and Nuggets, handed the Sixers losses during the west coast swing.

Falling seven spots in a single week hurts, but it’s hard to say it was undeserved. The Celtics are off to a 7-1 start, while Toronto is 7-2 and coming off a win against the Lakers that snapped Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Denver also has seven wins in addition to its recent win over the Sixers, while Utah is even with the Sixers at 6-3 but also holds a head-to-head victory over Philadelphia.

The events of the West Coast trip were disappointing, but it’s also fair to take them with a grain of salt. West Coast trips are inherently difficult, and the fact that it came early in the season as the new-look Sixers look to build chemistry only added to the difficulty. The team was without Joel Embiid for two of the games due to his suspension and was without Ben Simmons for basically one and three-quarters of the trip after he was injured early in the game against the Jazz.

Despite all that, it’s also fair to be concerned. The team was in position to win both the Pheonix and Utah games but failed to do so, and it blew a 21-point lead in the loss to Denver. The fourth-quarter offense was anemic against the Nuggets and the Sixers settled for too many difficult shots. In addition, turnovers continue to be a serious concern. Adding to the frustration is the fact that Joel Embiid’s conditioning once again appeared to be a factor in the three-game losing streak and Ben Simmons has yet to show any signs of progression.

It’s incredibly early and way too soon to be pushing any panic buttons, but to be sitting at 6-3 after a 5-0 start is frustrating. The recurring issues are problematic, but we also don’t want to overreact to a tough stretch of games during which the team wasn’t really at full strength.

The Sixers got back on track with a win over the Hornets on Sunday and will look to build on that Tuesday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hopefully, the team will start climbing its way back up the rankings and look more like the team that was good enough to hold the top spot just a week ago. [lawrence-related id=19074,19064,19038,19021,19002]