Depleted Sixers Showed Fight and Battled Through Loss to Cavaliers

This was never going to be a clean measuring stick game for the 76ers, given who was unavailable, but it still offered a pretty clear look at their depth, composure, and effort under pressure. In a 115-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 76ers’ patchwork lineup showed enough fight and grit to make the game more competitive than the talent gap and score suggested.

The 76ers entered tonight’s road contest against the Cavs missing 4 starters, if you count the suspended Paul George. Joining him in street clothes tonight were Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe. This game would be a great test for the Sixers’ second unit. The margin for error was virtually zero for the team, so this would show the coaching staff what they have outside of the normal starting five.

The depleted Sixers held strong for the majority of the first quarter, closing out the quarter 26-20. The second quarter was a continuation, until the last 2 minutes, when the Sixers made adjustments and trimmed the lead, which was up to 17 at one point, to 56-44. In the third quarter, former Sixer James Harden took the game over and, more importantly, set up others in the Cavs offense. The second half was a mixed bag; the third quarter continues to be a problem for the Sixers, losing the quarter 31-22, but the fourth quarter was a good sign for the Sixers. The fight from the guys who were taking full advantage of the additional minutes showed. Having the top 4 scorers sitting out, we couldn’t expect much with the scoring on the floor, but Quentin Grimes had 17 points to lead the Sixers, en route to a gutsy loss, if you will.

Turnovers Dash Sixers’ Hopes Early

In the first half, the Sixers were turning the ball over more than they should have, even as a second unit; many of the eight first-half turnovers were completely correctable. Though there were some turnovers that were just from a team that hasn’t played together too much, the concerning ones were mental mistakes. For example, there was a delay of game call that started with a miscommunication and spiraled into a turnover. These are things that need to be corrected, and to an extent, something that needs to be cleaned up by Nick Nurse and the coaching staff.

The second half was a much cleaner half with only three turnovers, which did lead to the Sixers keeping it close in comparison. One of the positive things is that the team really rallied around each other and cleaned up the play, which is a great thing in the face of an uphill task.

“We need to clean up the turnovers,” Nurse said postgame, “especially being undermanned.”

Sixers Looked Improved Despite Being Short-Handed

It’s one thing to miss scoring when your top 4 players are out, but the more concerning thing is when the defense can’t stop the other team. One thing remains true in basketball at any level: when a team is allowed to get into a rhythm, it makes the game so much harder to defend. Proof of this came early tonight, when the Sixers started off well on defense, particularly outside the arc. If you are playing the Cavs, you can’t let them play the game at their pace, because when you do, the threes start falling, and tonight they did that after a strong start in the first.

For the Cavs, they don’t make you just defend Harden from the outside; even if you draw him away from the three-point line, you have to worry about Dean Wade, who was 3-6 from distance, and Keon Ellis, who was 4-7. Early on, the Sixers were defending the outside well, only allowing three buckets from outside, two of those coming on plays late in the quarter, which came off of long rebounds and really turned the tide, which the Cavs rode into the second.

In the end, the Sixers’ defense kept them in the game and prevented this from being a blowout loss. A loss is still a loss, but the way the Sixers hung in defensively was something that can pay dividends as the play-in and playoffs approach.

Silver Lining to Big Loss

The way the Sixers performed tonight was well given the fact that they were wildly outmanned. The one thing we got to see is that the Sixers never gave up. They played pretty well with their backs against the wall, and there were many of the young Sixers who took full advantage of their time to show that they are ready to get heavier rotation minutes going forward. We know that Kelly Oubre Jr. and Grimes will get minutes, but there were many who were looking to make a point to the coaching staff that they are ready to take on prime minutes moving on.

One of the players whose play made a good impression with his effort, even if the results were mixed at best, was Cameron Payne. He ended the game with 12 points, but he had quite a few clean shots, which would definitely fall if he were more in a bit of a rhythm. He still knocked down some difficult shots, proving that he is more than capable, but he just needs the reps. With the Sixers’ backcourt sidelined for at least a couple of games, Payne will have a chance to shine a bit more and show Nurse that he can be depended on in high-leverage moments.

From the forwards group, Justin Edwards played very well tonight, dropping in 14, with two steals, which directly led to the Sixers stopping some Cavs runs.

Though losses hurt, we can look at this as an experience-building stretch of games. Yes, morale victories don’t count in the standings now, but they can add up in clutch moments later, which is the best-case scenario.

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