By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers opened up the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament slate by facing the New York Knicks, this is the first time both teams have seen each other since their explosive playoff matchup last season. New York was able to put together a late fourth quarter scoring explosion to beat Philly 111-99.

The Sixers finally got to see Joel Embiid and Paul George share a court together for the first time this season. At times during this game the duo looked explosive. Paul George probably never saw as much open space all season as he did tonight, New York focused a lot of attention on Embiid it that gave him enough room to really go off during this contest.

This was George’s best game so far this season as he scored 29 points and made 7/11 three-pointers in this game. He tortured whatever Knicks defender was on him and they put up little resistance during this contest. People wondered what it would look like with both George and Embiid on the floor and if this first game is any indication, Philly will have one of the most explosive offenses in the league once they figure out the chemistry.

For Embiid (13 points) he looked rusty in this game and it took him awhile to get going, but he was able to create multiple high-percentage opportunities for his teammates, and looked pretty good defensively in this game. His offense will return with the more games he plays, but the Sixers need to play him and take Paul George and him off of the minutes restriction that they are under. They both need to play together and create chemistry with each other. This task is even more difficult without Tyrese Maxey who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Now that Embiid is back in the fold though, the Sixers should start winning more games and they should start playing more cohesive basketball on both sides of the floor.

The New York Knicks did enough in this contest to take advantage of a weakened Sixers squad. OG Anunoby (24 points), Karl Anthony-Towns (21 points), and Jalen Brunson (18 points) made just enough buckets to keep the Sixers at arm’s length. Despite the fact that the Sixers did a good enough job containing Brunson throughout this game they could not stop KAT and Anunoby in this contest. Both of them refused to let their team lose to the Sixers, as they both made key defensive plays and scored pivotal buckets to beat Philly in this contest.

These two teams just have a natural chemistry and dislike of each other, and it creates a great rivalry and potential playoff matchup. Both teams have added new pieces and are still figuring things out. However, they should be able to meet up in the postseason and once the Sixers get healthy they should be able to compete with the Knicks and the Boston Celtics for Eastern Conference supremacy and a 2025 NBA Finals spot.

Philly will now prepare to face the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night, they will probably not play Joel Embiid in tomorrow’s contest, they should though the Sixers are struggling right now and need all the help they can get.

In addition,  Embiid needs to get back into form on the offensive side of the ball and the only way that is going to happen is by playing with his teammates. Philly will also have to cash in on their high-percentage shooting opportunities, something they did not do enough of in this contest against the Knicks. Cleveland is a very imposing team and it will be key for  the Sixers to make them pay for their defensive aggressiveness. The Sixers will be in great shape to get their third win of the season if they implement these things into their gameplan tomorrow night.