The Philadelphia 76ers (4-14) faced the Detroit Pistons (9-13) with Paul George returning to the lineup after a three-game absence. The Sixers caught the Pistons without much juice in the tank and won in wire-to-wire fashion, 111-96.
Joel Embiid remained sidelined along with Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Reggie Jackson, though Detroit’s Cade Cunningham was ruled out just before the game. With George back in the lineup, the Sixers got a major boost, though they still have yet to prove they can win consistently with any combination of their stars in the lineup. A hard-fought loss in their previous contest set the stage for another strong performance that earned Philly a fourth win.
Here are three takeaways from the 76ers’ victory.
A major lineup change
For the second straight game, Nick Nurse started Guerschon Yabusele and Andre Drummond together. Seeking more size against one of the NBA’s best rebounding squads, Jared McCain was moved to the bench while George slid back into the starting five and Kelly Oubre Jr. moved up a position, forming one of Philly’s forbidden pairings with K-9 and Drummond. Their 11th different starting lineup of the season was yet another curious decision from Nurse.
Going to a bigger, seemingly more defensive-leaning lineup against a bad offensive team did not make much sense. Even with the Pistons’ dominance on the glass, the Sixers made themselves much worse on offense for no good reason. It’s not like McCain doesn’t also hunt for rebounds when the chances arise. Nonetheless, the new lineup didn’t get a chance to play for long because of — you guessed it — injuries.
Drummond scored four of the Sixers’ first nine points before twisting his ankle on a landing, stepping on Tobias Harris’ foot and rolling it so badly he needed assistance to make it back to the locker room. He was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain and ruled out the rest of the way.
Adem Bona filled in for Drummond and finished his first offensive possession with an easy dunk. The energy off the bench from him and Ricky Council IV sparked one of Philly’s best quarter-long performances of the season. Both of them had strong showing the whole way. Yabusele slid down to the center spot and played a lot with KJ Martin, who had an excellent performance highlighted by 19 points, the most he’s had as a Sixer.
McCain had a rough first half, getting off zero shots and surrendering some buckets on the other end. For as much as he is capable of doing by himself, he didn’t get much help in coming across open looks. He started playing well off the bench before his explosion as a starter, so it may not have been the change in role that led to a down performance.
A great script gets flipped…and then flipped back
The Sixers led 37-20 after the first quarter, one of their absolute best 12-minute stretches of the season. They shot 56.0 percent from the field while the Pistons shot just 33.3 percent. The Pistons, like the Sixers’ last opponent, were coming off a back-to-back, which explains the pep in the Sixers’ step looking better. They couldn’t control that, obviously, but they could control how well and hard they played.
The ride in the second quarter wasn’t nearly as smooth. Former Sixer Paul Reed didn’t get any minutes against his old team in the first Philly-Detroit matchup of the season but did in this one, scoring a few buckets. Ausar Thompson, like Council, gave his team an infusion of wiry, intense athleticism, helping Detroit cut an 18-point deficit in half. The Pistons eventually trailed by only five going into halftime.
The Sixers actually still shot well from deep, making half of their deep attempts in the first half, but they were incapable of scoring well inside the arc in the second quarter. They also were more turnover-prone, allowing the Pistons back in it. In the second half, they put their foot back on the gas and didn’t let up.
Tyrese Maxey ensured the Sixers’ great start wouldn’t go to waste. He scored 12 points in the first six minutes of the third quarter and assisted Martin on a few buckets, igniting a run that put Philly back ahead by double figures. With some offensive rebounding, tough defense from Bona and more big plays from Martin, the Sixers ran the exhausted Pistons off the court in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was more of the same.
Losing games like the ones they did to the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets is brutal without any other context for the 76ers. But losing the games they came into with more rest than their opponent spoils their easiest chances to win, even if the opponent is a solid team. The Sixers have played one back-to-back so far this season and have had multiple days of rest several times. When they don’t have those going for them, they’ll have to win games when they’re tired. Based on how little they win when rested doesn’t inspire any confidence.
At least for one game, the 76ers got a tired opponent down and kept them down by the time the final buzzer sounded. Several guys off the bench played very, very well.
PG back in action
George made it back to the 76ers’ starting lineup after recovering from his latest left knee bone bruise. He wasted no time providing a massive boost in his limited minutes.
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Philly went up 20-7 in the first six minutes of the game with George scoring one of its baskets and assisting on four others. He set guys up with his own dribble and kept the ball moving to open teammates. In his second shift, he drove right through Tim Hardaway Jr.’s chest for a few buckets. There’s still some concern with how much separation he can truly get from defenders that aren’t horrible but he didn’t let his poor shooting become too big of a detriment.
The Sixers dominated in his minutes because the Pistons respected his scoring abilities heavily. George bent the defense to him and his teammates did the work to fill in the gaps around that, whether it be a cut to the hoop or a spot-up position around the arc. His own shooting from the floor was not good but he directed the Detroit defense just fine. His own defense was solid enough, too.
The final line for George in his latest return game (in 26 minutes): 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, 4-12 shooting.
Other takeaways
- McCain was living it up on a snowy Detroit night ahead of game day. Having such a radiant beam of positivity has been critical in this mucky season the Sixers are having, even though his performance tonight was a bummer.
- Should it be so shocking that playing the younger guys more led to an inspired performance? Bona is still raw but maybe not so green that he can’t get a few minutes here and there to eat some minutes. Martin and Council should be in the rotation every game.
The 76ers have yet another two-day rest, aiding their injured players significantly. They’ll play the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday for their final game of this year’s NBA Cup.
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