Some thoughts and observations left over from the 76ers’ most recent game, a 110-97 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Through nearly three months of the NBA season, the Sixers and Detroit have proven to be two of the most successful teams at producing points in the paint. At The Palace of Auburn Hills, some numbers – and one particular sequence – reflected this trait shared between the Eastern Conference rivals. For the most direct, basic indicator of the Sixers’ and Pistons’ interior scoring prowess, head to the “points in the paint” section of Wednesday’s box score. The Sixers matched a season-high by muscling their way to 58 such points, converting 29 of their 52 field goal tries (55.8%) in the key. Detroit, meanwhile, cranked out 54 points in the paint, sinking 27 of their 54 (50.0%) inside attempts.The starting frontcourt tandem of power forward Jerami Grant and center Nerlens Noel fueled the Sixers’ production on the block. Grant, making a second straight start as a result of Jahlil Okafor being sick, delivered a career performance, bursting for 21 points. Noel equaled a season-best with 20 points. Pistons’ big man Andre Drummond, coming off a pedestrian seven-point, six-rebound effort his previous outing in Utah, delivered a dominant display. He deposited 25 points and hauled in 18 rebounds for his NBA-leading 38th double-double of the campaign.Even an imposing 6’11”, 279-pound frame, Drummond’s presence did not deter Grant or Noel from relentlessly attacking the rim, especially in the early stages of Wednesday’s tilt. Helping the Sixers build a 25-16 advantage three minutes into the second quarter, the duo was a major reason why the club’s first 11 field goals were all generated from the lane. here’s a look at the shot chart from that stage of the game:”When we start talking about your bodies and how do you back it up and the attention that we give to recoveries–how do you back it up?,” said Brett Brown following the Sixers’ loss to Detroit in the final game of their 10th back-to-back set. “That’s the NBA, and it’s a real-time example of three games in four nights and taking care of their bodies. They understand the importance of that, you hear them talking about all the massage therapy, all the stuff like that. They were excellent. Both of those two were elite, a lot of the game, athletically especially.”Going into their appearance at The Palace, the Sixers ranked ninth in the NBA with an average of 44.3 paint points per game. The Pistons, meanwhile, were seventh, with 44.8 such points per outing.
Wednesday’s pairing between the the Sixers and Pistons was headlined by the low-post match-up between Nerlens Noel and Andre Drummond. With Jahlil Okafor not traveling to the game as a result of having recently fallen ill, Noel made a second consecutive start at center, and 10th overall this season. The assignment presented him with another opportunity to battle one of the elite five men in the NBA.”I’ve been playing against him since I was 15 years old,” Noel said, referring to Drummond, the NBA’s leader in rebounding (15.2) and double-doubles (38). “I definitely look at it as a challenge every time I go against him. He’s a high-caliber player that can do a lot of things on the court. You always have to be mindful of where he is on the court, and we have to stay focused and move onto the next game.”Noel tied a season high by scoring 20 points, the fourth time he’s reached that mark in his two-year career. He punched in nine field goals, which also matched a season high, and handed out four assists. On the opposite end of the floor, Noel snagged seven rebounds. Drummond was a load, with 25 points and 18 boards. The two young bigs were involved in some highlight moments together. In the third quarter, Noel threw down a monster left-handed jam over Drummond. The dunk was very much worthy of the subsequent Vining treatment it received. Later, when the Pistons had the game in hand in the fourth quarter, Noel literally lept on the back of Drummond in an obvious, light-hearted attempt to foul the 38.4 percent career free throw shooter. The combatants shared a laugh as they walked to the opposite end of the court, where Drummond stepped to the line “He’s an All-Star in this league, we all know that,” Detroit head coach Stan Van Gundy said about Drummond, who went an uncharacteristically effective seven for 12 from the stripe on Wednesday. “Most importantly, it was great to see him knock down those free throws and make the 76ers reluctant to guard him and do the ‘Hack-A-Dre’ [strategy]. I talked to him [Tuesday]. He definitely put in a lot of work, so it’s good to see him make clutch free throws throughout the game and he played with another type of energy and he got back to the player that Andre is.”
Having played on back-to-back nights, the Sixers will be off the court on Thursday, then return to practice on Friday to begin preparations for an opponent that figures to be their loftiest test yet. The Golden State Warriors, with an NBA-best record of 42-4, will make their lone appearance at The Center on Saturday at 5:00 PM EST. The defending champions top the league in scoring (115.1 points per game), offensive rating (113.2 points per 100 possessions), pace (101.81 possessions per game), three-point field goals (12.8 per game), and three-point shooting percentage (42.6).”I think that when you watch championship level basketball, that’s the game,” said Brett Brown, when asked Tuesday for his thoughts on the Warriors’ breakneck style of play. “I think [basketball] is going to be played with a high level of place, a high volume of threes. Now you’re talking about the speed of the game, and the motion tracking that’s supported by data. So you got this small ball thing flying around that can shoot and play with speed, and positionally, just dangerous. They can score about any time they want. Can they sustain it? I think that they can. I actually think they can. I think they’re going to be playing against the Spurs in late May. They’re really an exciting team to watch.”San Antonio, with Tim Duncan unavailable, visited Golden State Monday. It was no contest. The Warriors rolled, 120-90. The Spurs, for which Brown was an assistant for 12 years, have the NBA’s second-best record, now at 39-7.
