3 observations after Sixers lose to Lakers, end winless West Coast trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers’ fruitless West Coast road trip came to an end on Friday night in Los Angeles.
They will go home at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
With a 116-106 defeat to the Lakers, the Sixers fell to 1-7. Los Angeles moved to 5-4.
Anthony Davis posted 31 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. LeBron James recorded a 21-point triple-double and Austin Reaves had a 20-point, seven-assist outing.
The Sixers’ top scorer was rookie Jared McCain with 18 points.
The team was down All-Stars Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain). Paul George, limited to 25 minutes in his third game since returning from a left knee bone bruise, had nine points on 4-for-13 shooting and eight assists.
The Sixers will host the Hornets on Sunday night. Here are observations about their loss to the Lakers:
A nurse turns to an all-bench unit
Kyle Lowry opened the game in Maxey’s usual spot and drained a three-pointer for the Sixers’ first points.
The Sixers’ starters didn’t have much early success on either end of the floor, though. The Lakers started 5 for 6 from three-point range and took a 21-10 lead on a Cam Reddish triple. That led Sixers head coach Nick Nurse to call a timeout and play some unconventional lineups.
KJ Martin gave the Sixers a much needed jolt. In addition to being dangerous and lively in the open floor, Martin improved to 2 for 2 this season from three-point territory.
Reggie Jackson and Ricky Council IV substituted with about four minutes left in the first quarter. Nurse closed the first and started the second period with an all-bench lineup, suggesting both that he was completely dissatisfied with the initial shift of his starters and liked the energy and production of players like Martin and Guerschon Yabusele (14 points on 5-). for-6 shooting, five rebounds). Yabusele’s stock certainly rose on the Sixers’ 0-3 trip.
Eric Gordon was not in Nurse’s 10-man rotation. He played a bad game Wednesday night in the The Sixers loss to the Clippersgoing scoreless and committing four turnovers in his 17 minutes. The Sixers obviously don’t have a reliably effective style of play or rotation without Embiid, so it felt like Nurse shook things up a bit.
A long look at McCain
McCain missed his first four field goals but kept shooting.
He hit back-to-back three-pointers in the second quarter as the Sixers cut further into the Lakers’ early lead.
McCain played his most minutes yet Friday, logging 31. Along with his confidence, maybe he can take some advantage of his unpredictability during this Maxey-less stretch. As he continues to learn what is effective for him as a pro, McCain often varies his tempo and attacks from different angles as a driver and finisher. There’s almost no NBA tape on him either, although Lakers head coach JJ Redick certainly knows all about the Duke product’s game.
The Sixers’ bench mostly played well Friday. And, although Davis, Reaves and James scored a lot, the Sixers showed better discipline and focus than in recent outings. They had only three turnovers and conceded three free throws in the first half. Two Lowry foul shots put the Sixers up 57-55 late in the second quarter.
Another double digit defeat
The Lakers held a 68-60 halftime lead thanks to an 8-0 spurt at the end of the second quarter.
Once again, the Sixers’ starters didn’t play inspired basketball to start the third quarter. George had a tough stretch against James, missing short jumpers and allowing driving layups to the 20-time All-Star.
George (0 for 6), Kelly Oubre Jr. (0 for 4) and Lowry (1 for 6) all had down games from three-point range. Jackson went 1 for 6 from the field and had multiple very capricious misses.
Meanwhile, Caleb Martin’s season shooting percentages exploded. Through seven games, Martin has made just 33.8 percent of his field goals and 20 percent of his threes, and his shooting motion has been awkwardly multi-segmented at times. He fared much better against the Lakers, going 5 for 6 from the field and 3 for 4 from three-point range.
Although the shot of Martin clicking into form is noteworthy, the Sixers have few comforting silver linings at the moment. Friday’s contest was never in doubt during the final minutes.
Eight games in, the Sixers have five double-digit losses, one (overtime) win and two All-Stars away.
