In “back-to-back” and with a squad limited to eight players, the Sixers waited for the start of the 4th quarter to make the difference. Until then, it was Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey who had held the booth to meet Jerami Grant. Going into the final quarter, the Sixers were leading 86-82 before Georges Niang killed the game by going 11-0 to make it 97-82.
With a 15-point lead eight minutes from the end, the Sixers had done the hardest part, and it is Joel Embiid, hitherto clumsy, who will be responsible for repelling Detroit’s comeback attempts with a tap and a dunk. Upon arrival, Philly won 109-98 for a fifth straight win.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
The Sixers’ Short Rotation. Between the Covid-19, the sulks of Ben Simmons and the injuries, Doc Rivers finds himself with an eight-player rotation. Last night, it was Furkan Korkmaz who was forced to forfeit due to a wrist injury, joining Danny Green, Ben Simmons or even Tobias Harris and Isaiah Joe on the side.
Cade Cunningham’s first 3-pointer. After 19 failures, the first draft pick scored his first career 3-pointer in the NBA. A very difficult shot since the Pistons point guard had his feet on the logo, and it was at the 24-second limit. It will be his only 3-pointer of the game, and he is 1 of 21 from 3-point range following three games.
A fatal 11-0. Without necessarily playing well and despite a big clumsiness, the Pistons were only three points behind at the start of the last quarter. Moment chosen by George Niang to make the difference. The new Wells Fargo Center darling plants 9 of the Sixers’ 11 points to give them a 15-point lead. Hitherto awkward, Georges Niang killed the game.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Seth Curry. Joel Embiid still angry with his shot, it was Stephen’s brother who led the attack in the first quarter. Without him, the Sixers would undoubtedly have had a much more complicated evening since he scored 16 of his team’s 31 points in the first quarter, including 11 in a row. He is the man of the game starts this season for Philly.
✅ Tyrese Maxey. For his 21 years, he signs his fifth career game with more than 20 points. He is the most used player by Doc Rivers, and the reason is simple: he is a ball of energy. And since he’s just playing, there’s no reason to take him out. It is he who projects his team forward, and we will remember his heat stroke in the 3rd quarter to give the advantage to the Sixers. Like Immanuel Quickley with the Knicks, his “floater” is taking a toll.
⛔ Cade Cunningham. It is his 4 of 17 on shots that penalizes him. His volume of play is interesting, as is his ability to speed up the game, but his shot selection remains questionable. He doesn’t protect his shots enough on the drives and he was blocked several times from behind. But as Dwane Casey never stops encouraging him to shoot, we understand why he persists… With 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, he signs his most complete game and it is also the game where he had the most ball in hand. Both because he recovered the rebounds to launch the attacks, but also because Detroit seems to have decided to give him the keys to the attack with Killian Hayes used as a shooter.
THE TRICOLOR CORNER
There is better for Killian Hayes. We would still like him to be more aggressive towards the circle, but he and Cade Cunningham are starting to find automatisms. Even if the building site is enormous, it is undoubtedly the most convincing match of the Pistons this season in the animation of the game, and Killian Hayes was rather used in “off-guard” with Cade Cunningham at the controls. Released on injury (thumb), he returned at the end of the match to try to reverse the course of the match.
THE FOLLOWING
Detroit (1-7) : back-to-back for the Pistons heading to Brooklyn.
Philadelphia (7-2) : new trip to the Bulls on Saturday evening.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||