Some thoughts and observations left over from the 76ers’ most recent game, a 111-91 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. To best access this content on a mobile device, select the “view in browser” option.
The Sixers’ first week back from the NBA All-Star Game break hasn’t been an easy one. In four outings, the club has surrendered an average of 121.3 points per game, and has been outscored by an average of 15.5 points per contest. Following Wednesday’s 111-91 defeat at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Brett Brown offered up one theory to explain, in part, why the Sixers have run into trouble since the end of their mid-February lay-off. It had to do with the nature of the opposition. “I think that what we’re seeing is teams that are fighting for their lives to get into the playoffs,” said Brown. “I look at [Detroit’s] roster, and they’re good. They have a hell of a team, and I think that we’re getting “A” games. They hit us, and hit us hard at the start, and we just dug ourselves far too deep a hole on the road.”Detroit depended on Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris, who combined for 34 points and 22 rebounds on Wednesday, to build up a 13-point advantage after one quarter of play. From there, the deficit was one the Sixers’ couldn’t dent.Brown’s observation about the competition during the current stretch of the Sixers’ schedule is worth examining examining. Beginning with last Friday’s visit to New Orleans, the Sixers are in the process of playing 10 straight games against opponents that could be classified as post-season hopefuls. Below is a chart (compiled February 25th) reflecting the state of the first 10 teams the Sixers have faced / will face on the heels of the All-Star break, and the playoff ground these clubs either need to make up or hold onto over the final seven weeks of the regular season. The first through eighth seeds in each conference will qualify for for the post-season. Evidence of Brown’s point that the present batch of teams on the Sixers’ schedule are competing with renewed focus and intensity came Tuesday. Orlando head coach Scott Skiles revealed that he and his staff challenged their young team at shootaround to treat Tuesday’s contest like a “must win, if you want to talk about the playoffs. We’ve got to apply some pressure on ourselves.””They’re right on that fringe of making playoffs,” Brown said of the Sixers’ past four and six forthcoming foes. “They’re all fighting to get in the playoffs. There’s purpose to what they’re doing. We all will see this year, the rest of this season evolve, and everybody’s going to end up in different places soon. You see a different approach to teams nowadays, at this stage of an NBA season, and we’re going to see it even differently in March. But right now, you see fire, you see people just throwing punches, and trying to squeeze in and claw into the playoffs.” The next time the Sixers draw a match-up against a team unlikely to reach the post-season won’t be until March 11th, when the 15-42 Brooklyn Nets return to The Center.
Brown Brown isn’t the only member of the Sixers trying to figure out what can be done to spark the team. Count Ish Smith as someone who’s searching for answers as well. He’s attempting to identify the areas in which the Sixers can improve, and get back in a competitive, forward-moving direction. . “We played slow,” said Smith on the heels of the Sixers’ 111-91 loss to Detroit. Stats.nba.com rates the point guard as the second-fastest offensive player in the NBA. “I don’t know what it is. Whatever we were doing before the All-Star break, we have to find that and play for each other, and have fun in what Coach calls the last part of the season.”A day after draining 22 points versus the Orlando Magic, Smith was kept in check for four points at The Palace. He converted two of his nine field goal attempts in 26 minutes played. “People are respecting us now,” said Smith. “So with that being said, when people respect you the greatest respect you can give anyone is to beat them. That’s what Detroit did to us [Wednesday], and we have to find a way to figure out a way to get better.”One bright spot for the Sixers versus the Pistons was that members of the bench made the most of their playing time. Hollis Thompson equaled a season-best with 19 points, Kendall Marshall set a new season-high with 12 points, and Carl Landry netted all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. Richaun Holmes topped the Sixers with seven rebounds.
Despite the recent results turned in by the Sixers, they remain focused on maintaining a positive mindset. Isaiah Canaan spoke to Sixers Radio Network announcer Tom McGinnis on Wednesday about the team’s approach. “We come into every game with a purpose and with a gameplan,” said the shooting guard. “We just have to go out there and execute it, and make sure we’re doing the right things. At the end of the day, defense is going to win us games. So, that’s where our knack is going to be, is making sure we’re doing the right things on the defensive end.”Canaan had tallied double-figure point totals in each of his first three games back from the All-Star break. That streak came to an end at Detroit. He scored six points. Overall since the break, Canaan has converted 43.2 percent from the field, and nine of his 21 three-point field goal attempts.
