By: Kylan Watson
After a weekend which saw them lose to the Indiana Pacers and lose Jared McCain (torn meniscus out indefinitely) and Joel Embiid (right sinus re-evaluated in one week). The Philadelphia 76ers faced the Charlotte Hornets in the first of a two-game series. Both teams traded blows throughout this game, but thanks to a third quarter explosion Philly beat Charlotte 121-108.
The Sixers jumped on the Hornets from the opening tip-off they were able to find their offensive rhythm early in this contest. Knocking down multiple baskets to jump out to an early lead. Paul George had it working early in this contest, he was way more involved in the offensive scheme than he was in the last few games. He scored 20 of his 33 points by half-time, made 6/9 of his three-point attempts, and had 8 assists in this game.
The Sixers offense is at its best when George is involved and that has to be the case right now without McCain and Embiid and when Embiid comes back next week or later. George was able to create multiple high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates just by his passing ability and offensive gravity. Philly needs as many playmakers as possible in this stretch, and getting him involved will add another dimension to the Sixers offensive and defensive capabilities as a team. As a defender George blew up multiple offensive possessions that the Hornets had and caused some turnovers that led to fast break opportunities for Philly.
Despite the explosion from George Charlotte stormed back in this contest and shrunk the Sixers 21-point lead to single-digits by the end of the third quarter. Miles Bridges scored 24 points and imposed his will throughout this contest. The Sixers just could not do much to stop him and his athleticism created problems for them. Not having Joel Embiid on the floor allowed the paint to be open for him and he took full advantage of it. However, the Sixers were able to limit the Hornets rebounding opportunities and shut them down from the three-point line. That allowed the Sixers to take this game over late in the fourth quarter as they were finally able to put the Hornets away.
Thanks to Tyrese Maxey (40 points and made 6/12 of his three-pointers in this contest), Kelly Oubre Jr. (19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds), Eric Gordon ( 9 points) and George scored enough baskets to help the Sixers stay ahead of the Hornets. This game marked the first time in Sixers history that two teammates have scored 30 plus points and made six three-pointers during the same contest.
Philly will need Maxey and George to play out of their minds throughout the next few weeks. In addition, they will need more scoring from their role players as well, and if that happens the Sixers have a chance to continue to rocket up the standings even with a tougher portion of their schedule coming up next week.
Both teams will have a few days off to prepare for the last game of their regular season matchup on Friday. The Sixers will need to do what they did during tonight’s contest and cash in on the high-percentage opportunities created off their ball movement. Doing that allows for everyone to get involved and adds another dimension to their offense.
In addition, the Sixers will need to limit the Hornets to one possession, and make them take difficult shots instead of easy scoring opportunities. Implementing these things into their gameplan should put the Sixers in great position to win their 9th game of the season.