3 observations after George leaves with left knee injury, Sixers slide to yet another demoralizing loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers have yet to reach a turning point.
They slipped to yet another disheartening loss on Wednesday night, falling 117-111 to the Grizzlies, and will head home from an 0-3 road trip at a dreadful 2-12 overall this season.
Team meeting Monday night in Miami uninspired victory over the shorthanded Grizzlies, whose list of injured players injured Ja Morant, Marcus Smart and Zach Edey. Memphis moved to 9-7.
Paul George exited the game in the third quarter with left knee hyperextension (more on that below).
Kyle Lowry opened the night on the sidelines with a right hip strain. Tyrese Maxey is back from a right hamstring injury. He played 20 minutes in his first action since Nov. 6 and had eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.
Joel Embiid posted 35 points and 11 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. (25 points) and Desmond Bane (21) were the leading scorers of the Grizzlies.
The Sixers will begin a three-game homestand Friday night against the Nets and continue a season that has quickly descended into a dark, dark place.
Here are observations about their loss to Memphis:
A much improved Embiid
The first two minutes were not encouraging for Embiid.
He was stripped of the ball for about 30 seconds on the night. Shortly after that, Memphis double-teamed Embiid and he searched in vain for open teammates before flipping up a very long, air-piled hook shot as the 24 seconds expired. He clapped his hands in frustration.
Embiid followed up an extremely rare zero free throw night on Monday by taking four foul shots in the first quarter. The Sixers made sure to get him regular post and isolated touches early and he posted 10 first-quarter points, including a fadeaway jumper over Jackson. The offense certainly wasn’t humming all game, but Embiid looked much closer to normal in terms of offensively looking to score.
Embiid also shot his mid-range jumper much better than he did in his three previous outings this season, which always helps.
He managed to play a season-high 35 minutes, including the entire third quarter. Embiid limped to the bench with 3:29 to go in the fourth after appearing to hit his right knee against Jackson, but he stayed in for the rest of the game.
Maxey very limited
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters in a Memphis pregame that Maxey would have a “fairly short” minutes restriction. He wasn’t kidding.
Maxey played the first 5 minutes and 29 seconds of the first quarter. That was it for the first half and he didn’t click into form after half time.
Maxey started the scoring with a banked floater after rejecting an Embiid ball screen, but he didn’t make a field goal again until the fourth quarter. The Sixers started 0 for 8 from three-point range and Maxey had three of those missed.
Naturally, Jared McCain canned the Sixers’ first long-range shot. The rookie notched a sixth straight 20-point game Wednesday and also tallied a team-high five assists.
He played the full first quarter and served as lead guard in some bench-heavy lineups. Nurse seemed to be looking for anything that might work, using 11 players in the first half.
The Sixers had too many defensive breakdowns in half court and transition, failing to bring the necessary focus and attention to detail. Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard lined up two consecutive wide-open threes early in the second quarter and made them both. He then pump faked, drove baseline and got the Sixers’ defense scrum, which led to a Jay Huff corner three.
Bane found his jumper in the second quarter, hitting several well-guarded shots, and the Sixers faced a 10-point halftime deficit. George had just two of their 53 points on 1-for-6 shooting.
George goes out, the Sixers’ problems get worse
Less than a minute into the third quarter, George came out. He awkwardly walked around after securing a defensive rebound and returned to the Sixers’ locker room. Guerschon Yabusele replaced.
George did not return and the Sixers later called his injury “left knee hyperextension”. The 34-year-old hyperextended the same knee during the same preseason and was diagnosed with a bone bruise that caused him to sit out the Sixers’ first five games of the regular season. The Sixers will be hoping for confirmation that this particular issue is minor.
Yabusele (17 points on 6-for-8 shooting) didn’t bother with an extended run in the third quarter at all. He scored the Sixers’ first six points of the period on two long-range jumpers.
Embiid and Yabusele carried the offense in the third quarter, but the Sixers seemed likely to struggle after their All-Star big man sat. Sure enough, Memphis dominated with Andre Drummond on the court early in the fourth quarter. Following a Drummond trip inside, Bane hit a step-back three over him that gave the Grizzlies a 105-89 advantage. Memphis’ lead became as large as 20 points.
The Sixers raised their level of desperation late, cutting their deficit to 115-111 on a driving Embiid bucket, but a miraculous, last comeback would not have reconciled at all with the brutal state of the team. They are now 0-1 when Embiid, George and Maxey all suit up and it is uncertain when they will have a full strength trio of stars.
