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NEW YORK -- Following an emotional Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics on the road on Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers looked a bit tired and out of sync as they began Round 2 with the New York Knicks on Monday. The Sixers trailed by as many as 40 as they fell to the Knicks 137-98 in Game 1 of this series.
The Sixers received 17 points from Paul George, 14 points and four rebounds from Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey had 13 points and three rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds and VJ Edgecombe added 12 points.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss to the Knicks:
It was too easy for the Knicks in this one. They lived in the paint, finished at the basket, and kicked it out to open shooters. When the Sixers did close out, the Knicks put the ball on the floor and dribbled into mid-range shots in order to find an offensive rhythm. Jalen Brunson, especially, was able to get into a groove as he took advantage of any crease he was able to find in Philadelphia’s defensive scheme. It didn’t matter who the Sixers threw onto Brunson, he was able to get things moving for New York.
Coach Nick Nruse stated:
While the Knicks were firing on all cylinders, the Sixers struggled out of the starting blocks. Philadelphia tried to get Embiid going early in this one as it fed him the ball in his usual sweet spots, but the big fella was unable to find a groove. He was able to have success at the free-throw line as he drew fouls on the big men the Knicks threw on him, but other than that, he was unable to really find anything on the offensive end of the floor. It was also a tough night for him defensively as the Knicks found a groove.
"I think it was a pretty tough night for everybody," said Nurse. "I mean, it just again. I don't think we shot it particularly well, but I don't think we generated nearly as good as shots. I kept talking about the last series, the shot creation and generation was excellent, right? And it wasn't very good tonight. I thought we just have to figure out how to run some more offense to get some of the same looks we got in the last series. Obviously, it's a new series. We got to figure it out. We weren't—again, really hard to evaluate. I think that we just were kind of stuck in the mud at both ends, and they put it on us. They had a great shooting night. We didn't guard them well enough, and they put it on us."
It’s hard to really use fatigue as a factor in any situation, let alone the NBA Playoffs, but it has to at least be considered for the Sixers in this one. They played a competitive and emotional Game 7 in Boston on Saturday, had one day off, and then had to go face a Knicks team that has had some days off due to finishing off their Round 1 series in six games. One can excuse them for the poor performance to open this series, but this is their one mulligan. If it bleeds into Game 2 on Wednesday, then the Sixers will have a problem to face in this series.
"I won't use that as an excuse, but emotional roller coaster," said George. "You go from a Game 7 and one day off, and then you're right back into another matchup. I think there was some carryover of us trying to get up and get prepared for this next matchup, but, you know, we should have came out and did a better job. I won't use that as an excuse."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following Game 1 loss to Knicks
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The Sixers received 17 points from Paul George, 14 points and four rebounds from Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey had 13 points and three rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds and VJ Edgecombe added 12 points.
Here are the three biggest takeaways following the loss to the Knicks:
Defensive struggles
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It was too easy for the Knicks in this one. They lived in the paint, finished at the basket, and kicked it out to open shooters. When the Sixers did close out, the Knicks put the ball on the floor and dribbled into mid-range shots in order to find an offensive rhythm. Jalen Brunson, especially, was able to get into a groove as he took advantage of any crease he was able to find in Philadelphia’s defensive scheme. It didn’t matter who the Sixers threw onto Brunson, he was able to get things moving for New York.
Coach Nick Nruse stated:
Embiid can’t find a rhythm
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While the Knicks were firing on all cylinders, the Sixers struggled out of the starting blocks. Philadelphia tried to get Embiid going early in this one as it fed him the ball in his usual sweet spots, but the big fella was unable to find a groove. He was able to have success at the free-throw line as he drew fouls on the big men the Knicks threw on him, but other than that, he was unable to really find anything on the offensive end of the floor. It was also a tough night for him defensively as the Knicks found a groove.
"I think it was a pretty tough night for everybody," said Nurse. "I mean, it just again. I don't think we shot it particularly well, but I don't think we generated nearly as good as shots. I kept talking about the last series, the shot creation and generation was excellent, right? And it wasn't very good tonight. I thought we just have to figure out how to run some more offense to get some of the same looks we got in the last series. Obviously, it's a new series. We got to figure it out. We weren't—again, really hard to evaluate. I think that we just were kind of stuck in the mud at both ends, and they put it on us. They had a great shooting night. We didn't guard them well enough, and they put it on us."
Fatigue a factor?
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It’s hard to really use fatigue as a factor in any situation, let alone the NBA Playoffs, but it has to at least be considered for the Sixers in this one. They played a competitive and emotional Game 7 in Boston on Saturday, had one day off, and then had to go face a Knicks team that has had some days off due to finishing off their Round 1 series in six games. One can excuse them for the poor performance to open this series, but this is their one mulligan. If it bleeds into Game 2 on Wednesday, then the Sixers will have a problem to face in this series.
"I won't use that as an excuse, but emotional roller coaster," said George. "You go from a Game 7 and one day off, and then you're right back into another matchup. I think there was some carryover of us trying to get up and get prepared for this next matchup, but, you know, we should have came out and did a better job. I won't use that as an excuse."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following Game 1 loss to Knicks
Continue reading...
