The Sixers never looked all that competitive in their 124-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.
With the Sixers still down four starters, the Nuggets took the lead early, and led by double-digits for almost the entire game.
Here’s three things we learned from the opening game of the Sixers’ road trip:
These are still the zombie Sixers
Looking at the three games on this road trip, Denver was easily the most challenging with the players the Sixers had missing. With games against the tanking Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz coming up on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, the Sixers can still go a respectable 2-1 on the trip and tread water in the playoff race.
Stealing a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, a borderline playoff team, might have given the Sixers a bit of hope that they could stay semi-competitive during this stretch. But on Tuesday, Denver dominated from wire-to-wire, just like the Pistons did when the Sixers made the trip to Detroit last week.
It’s possible that Joel Embiid could play on the road trip, coach Nick Nurse said prior to Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. He said Tuesday that Embiid was “active” during part of shootaround and went through an individual workout. Kelly Oubre Jr. will be re-evaluated at the end of the week and Tyrese Maxey a week after that. Paul George will be full-go immediately after his suspension ends next week.
Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Sixers were still just one game back of the No. 6 seed, which would allow them to bypass the play-in rounds. But the zombie Sixers still have one more tough game before George’s return: Monday’s home showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which makes the next two games of the road-trip near must-wins.
Increased three-point attempts
The Sixers took 25 threes in each game of their back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. On Tuesday, they attempted 24 threes in the first half alone. But the Sixers shot just 9-for-41 overall from beyond the arc.
In a league dominated by three-point shooting, the Sixers have struggled to replace Maxey’s three-point production, often relying on the mid-range game to score. The Nuggets, though, made 16-for-33 from three.
Down four starters, the Sixers haven’t defended well enough to stop their tougher matchups from making threes and haven’t scored enough to keep up with them. George’s 38.2% three-point percentage is the second-highest on the Sixers behind Maxey, so his expected return to the lineup against the Chicago Bulls on March 25 will help.
Who’s going to be in the healthy rotation?
The idea of the Sixers actually having a healthy rotation might seem far-fetched. There’s always something, but this stretch has given players on the Sixers’ bench an opportunity to show off their skills and make a case to regularly contribute.
There might not be a player who’s made a better case for himself over the last week than Justin Edwards, who scored 11 points in 25 minutes against Denver.
MarJon Beauchamp, still on a two-way deal, was the best Sixer on the floor Tuesday, scoring a team-high 16 points on 54.5% shooting, including four three-pointers.
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