Jan 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) controls the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Paul George shot a concert tour date as the Sixers' offense stumbled in the second half against the reeling Phoenix Suns.
Here's what I saw.
- The Sixers absolutely dominated the entire first half on defense, which makes their offensive dreck all the more shameful. Their effort to protect their side of the floor was worthy of an ass-kicking first half. But, I'll have more on the dreadful offense below. Let this be the praise for a near-perfect defensive half.
The switches were communicated perfectly, no Suns left unaccounted for on screens. Philadelphia stayed totally connected on actions, pre-switching to avoid cross-matches and finding the open man in rotations. They finished rotations with calm closeouts, careful to not fly past the shooter.
Even though Paul George did not take primary assignment on Kevin Durant (George being tucked away as a helper instead of a ball hawk against opposing stars was a common criticism from his time with the Los Angeles Clippers), he was active in helping off of Ryan Dunn and onto Durant when he felt the Suns star couldn't see all areas of the floor on the catch.
Philadelphia was a well-oiled machine on that end of the floor, prepared for a Suns team that looked completely disinterested in showing up for work on Monday night.
- Just when it looked like the Sixers were running short on fuel in the last few minutes of the first quarter and first few minutes of the second quarter, Nick Nurse looked Adem Bona's way. It was six minutes of game time that re-stabilized things for Philadelphia, and Bona's energy was the genesis of the reignited flame.
One of the first things he did was swoop in for an offensive rebound when it appeared Jusuf Nurkic had already locked it up. Bona wrestled it away, pinning the ball to his shoulder with one arm. He got a little bit overwhelmed by the crowd of jerseys in the paint and ultimately missed on the second effort. But, that established a baseline for his minutes.
Nurse likes to describe his players as "bouncy" if they're athletic, and Bona might as well be a pogo stick. One of the plays that will get lost in the shuffle is him taking a switch onto a guard on the perimeter and completely shutting it down. But, the plays that did grab attention featured an explosive roll to the rim for a monster dunk as Nurkic watched helplessly. The very next Suns possession, Bona made a rotation from the weak side of the floor to the rim, swatting a Booker layup away before it touched the backboard.
It was an effort that changed the way the game was flowing, waking the Sixers up before the Suns could out-talent them into control of the contest.
- As much as things dissolved on that end of the floor, the Sixers actually started the game with some sound offensive moments. Early on, the purpose wasn't to rely heavily upon Maxey and George. It was just executing and taking whatever flowed from there. For example, Kelly Oubre Jr. noticed heavy closeouts and sought to attack them off the dribble instead of settling for contested threes. Tyrese Maxey read Tyus Jones taking Guerschon Yabusele on a cross-match in transition and beat it by burying a pull-up three.
- As bad as the offense was - and it was horrific - Yabusele and Oubre were stabilizing presences on that end of the floor. Yabusele was a steady shooter out of the pick-and-pop in the first half, punishing Phoenix for treating him as a non-entity. Oubre carried the load when it appeared the Sixers were about dead in the closing minutes of the third quarter. I didn't think he made every right read, but he cranked up the aggression to maximum capacity. When no one else had anything going, Oubre fought to the rim for five foul shots across three consecutive possessions. He then lifted the ceiling off the building with a buzzer-beating 31-footer to end the third quarter.
- I get that the slew of players out means that lineups will dictate the quality of possessions. When one of Maxey and George is on the floor, shots will be more difficult to come by and lower quality than when they're both on the floor. Some of that is also lineup construction. The wrong mix of players can make life much harder for the two offensive engines. Having said that, the team completely lost the plot for the majority of the second quarter.
There were way too many possessions ending in isolations for George or Maxey. There are fine outcomes to be derived from that, but not when George is settling for contested, fading midrange jumpers and Maxey is trying to attack three guys at the rim. Furthermore, Maxey driving and kicking to the corners when help slides over isn't always squeezing every bit of value out of a possession. Guys stood and watched, making a decision only when the ball swung their ways.
There was the occasional pitch and screen for Maxey to receive a handoff going downhill, the middle man catching a pass from a third party and looking for Maxey to dart into the action immediately. But, again, there are personnel limitations that come with that if defenses are just going to bet against the supporting cast making open threes.
There wasn't any cutting. Instead, you got a small diet of Ricky Council IV putting his head down and forcing things in the paint. That will not fly.
- Paul George, time to make some shots, buddy. His responsibilities do not remain static when Joel Embiid is not available. A cold night here and there is inevitable. But, shooting concert tour dates whenever a premier defender takes your assignment just isn't acceptable. That is especially the case when the shot selection is iffy at best. There was barely any attempt by George to get to the rim in this game. It was contested long twos and threes for him all night long.
- Damn shame what Matt Ishbia did to this Suns team. I get that Durant is Durant. But, they threw their lynchpins away to reinforce the top-level talent. And then they parted with more assets to get Bradley Beal, who has the ultra-rare no trade clause in his contract, into the program. That team is going nowhere fast.
The Sixers (14-20) will host the Washington Wizards (6-27) on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., Eastern time. You can catch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
