By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Sacramento Kings last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Golden State Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back, and it showed tonight as Golden State used a first quarter explosion to beat Philly 139-105.

Unlike the last few games, the Sixers did not find their offensive rhythm early enough in this contest. They could not hit anything to open this contest and Golden State found there is from the three-point line. The Warriors made 22/39 three-pointers, and eight of those three pointers were made by Stephen Curry (30 points and 10 assists). For the first time in his career, he did not miss a shot from beyond the arc. He took full advantage of Philly’s defensive miscues that left him wide-open to shoot and when you give Steph that much room to shoot, he will make you pay.

Once again, the Sixers perimeter defense left a lot to be desired, on multiple occasions throughout this contest they would let a Warrior go straight to the basket for an easy lay-up. That cannot happen against a Golden State team that has struggled to find their rhythm throughout the last few weeks. Philly must communicate on the defensive end, and they are clearly missing the tenacity on the defensive end that has shown itself over the last few weeks.

Golden State is a team that will kill you with their ball movement and create high percentage shooting opportunities for their players, and as a defense there must be an understanding on the defensive assignments. When that is not working you have a night like this where a game ends early in the contest.

On the offensive end besides Joel Embiid (28 points 14 rebounds) and Guerschon Yabusele there were not many positives for the Sixers in this contest. Embiid at one point took this over in the third quarter where he was responsible for all the Sixers’ points in that period. No other player for the Sixers put up points in that period, and if more players joined him in the effort, it may have been a more competitive game against Golden State.

Philly is clearly missing Kelly Oubre Jr’s tenacity on both sides of the ball. There was too much complacency on the offensive side and that led to numerous stagnant offensive sets. Which was extremely easy for the Warriors to defend, combine that with the Sixers inability to make their high-percentage shooting opportunities during this game, it results in an embarrassing loss on national television. The Sixers must respond on Saturday night when they play the Brooklyn Nets.

The Sixers will have two full days to prepare for the Nets and finally play on equal footing with an opponent. Philly must win the rebounding battle and limit their turnovers against a desperate Brooklyn squad.

In addition, the Sixers will need to get Paul George going early in this contest. Against Golden State they did a better job of establishing him early, but when he has it working his playmaking ability creates high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates. Getting George going should add another dimension to Philly’s offensive and defensive schemes. Implementing these things into their game plan for Saturday night should put the Sixers in great position to win their 14^th game of the season and end their two-game losing streak.