By: Kylan Watson
Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis faced off for the first time in the 2023-24 NBA season as the Los Angeles Lakers faced the surging Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers played like a team that finally had more than one day off as they used three-point barrage to flood the Lakers 138-94.
The Sixers finally got more than one day off after playing 8 games in 13-days and they played like a team that got some well needed rest. They jumped on the Lakers from the opening tip-off and used a three-point barrage to do it. Philly hit 22/46 three-pointers tonight and the Lakers had no answers for it tonight. LA only hit seven/28 three-pointers and that was a big difference in this contest. Additionally, the duo of Joel Embiid (30-points, grabbed 11-rebounds, and had 11-assists this marked his sixth career triple double) and Tyrese Maxey (31-points, had eight-assists, and hit five three-pointers) dominated this game they combined for 30-points by the end of the first quarter putting the Lakers on their heels before they could even settle in for this game. When Embiid and Maxey have it working, they are one of the deadliest duos in the league they currently rank as the highest scoring duo in the league and if they continue this blistering pace the Sixers will go far in the postseason. This contest was well out of reach for the Lakers tonight thanks to their performance and with both making strides in their passing abilities high percentage shot opportunities are available for which ever three players Nick Nurse decides to play with them. Those abilities add another dimension to the Sixers offense and should scare opposing defenses.
The Lakers did continue to fight throughout this contest despite having every reason to quit. They did not have it tonight but continued to fight. The duo of LeBron James (18-points) and Anthony Davis (17-points) kept them in this contest they combined for 35 of the Lakers 94-points. Both players really could not put their stamp on this contest as the length of the Sixers clearly bothered them in this contest. The fact that the Sixers have one of the deepest wing rotations in the league really showed in this contest. They made the Lakers take well contested shots and they could not answer the challenge tonight. They had a field goal percentage of 47.0% and a three-point percentage of 25.0% the length of the Sixers smothered the Lakers tonight and if Philly can build on this defensive performance, they can have the most dominant defense in the league. The one knock on previous Sixers squads have been their inability to defend the perimeter and rebounding. Rebounding has not been an issue since Nick Nurse took over and if he can get them to commit to improving their perimeter defense then there will not be much stopping the Sixers besides a super star going off against them.
The Sixers will now prepare for a Wednesday night matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, and they will need to have another strong night on the defensive end to slowdown Zion Williamson and the Pelicans explosive offense. Additionally, the Sixers will need to keep the ball movement going on the offensive end. The ball moves faster than the defenders and high percentage shot opportunities can be created when the ball goes from end to end like it was in this game. Now that unlocked the three-point game, but the Sixers now have multiple ways to beat opponents on the offensive end. If they can implement these things, they should be able to get their 13th win of the season.