Sixers Win Over Grizzlies a Benchmark Moment Midway Through Season
There is never a “good” time for the Sixers to play without their MVP candidate, Joel Embiid. In the month of January, the 7’2 center had become must see entertainment that had NBA analysts and fans comparing him to the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaq. If Embiid had played on Monday night, he was just 24 points short of a 500 point month. The first Sixer player to achieve that feat since Allen Iverson. Instead, Embiid received a well deserved rest day which provided a unique opportunity for his surrounding cast to step up in his absence.
The Sixers have hit a benchmark moment in their season where the confidence in a lot of the players on this roster is at the highest point they’ve had this season. A lot of that is due to health as they’ve recovered from both injuries and COVID issues. So, it was time for the training wheels to come off and see if the cast surrounding Embiid could learn to ride their bike without the big man balancing them out. With a lot of guys oozing confidence lately, they had a chance against the Grizzlies for more shots and more opportunities in the spotlight.
They delivered in the most superb way possible.
Tyrese Maxey Goes Full Iverson
Hard not to start with the player who sent WFC into full pandemonium to finish the night
When speaking on the growing confidence of this Sixers team, it starts with Maxey. 33 points, 8 assists and 4(!!) blocks for the young point guard when they needed each ounce of burst he provided. Ja Morant, a first time NBA All-Starter this season, looked every bit the part on Monday night. Hanging in the air and contorting his body, Morant hit every tough shot imaginable in a spectacular performance. Yet, Maxey looked like he belonged in the same breath as Ja. Not just the game is slowing down, not just he’s distributing more, he flat out had shades of Allen Iverson last night. The final dash to the rim was reminiscent of AI’s steal and score against the Wizards to win the game many years ago. Aside from getting lost a few times on defense against Desmond Bane, Maxey went toe to toe with one of the best point guards in the NBA, and won the game.
Given the 6’10 Australian elephant in the room, Maxey showcasing star potential is a fantastic revelation for this years Sixers team.
Tobias Harris: the 5 year/$180 million man, who look like a 5 year/$180 million man
Whether it was a case of long COVID or simply not knowing where he fit in the Sixers lineup while Joel Embiid went full Demi-God, Tobias Harris looked lost for the first two months of the season. Now, compare that to his play in January and it may be the basketball he’s played as a Sixer. Here’s what his recent stats looked like BEFORE pouring in 31 points on Monday night:
This team is just astronomically better when Harris is playing well next to Embiid. Once promising about Harris’s play recently is the variety of ways in which he is scoring. He’s been cutting to the basket, posting up, and knocking down catch-and-shoot threes. There was a moment in the 2nd half where Harris caught the ball on the wing with Jaren Jackson guarding him. He immediately jab stepped one way and blew past Jackson Jr. off the dribble to the rim for the score.
The version of Tobi in November would have mindlessly dribbled that into a back-down in the post followed by a heavily contested 15 footer.
As a player, Harris is just so much better when all of his movements are direct with purpose. When playing in rhythm he’s a great scorer. Catch it, and let the shot fly. Dribble, and get right to the hoop. That’s the version of Tobias Harris we’ve had since he “didn’t die” he “just got booed”
Andre Drummond: “Know Your Role” Guy
Every championship team has the quintessential role guy or guys who knows on a nightly basis what the checklist is. That’s Drummond for the Sixers. Spell Embiid productively. Set screens for guards to crest space. Roll to the rim. And rebound EVERYTHING.
Drummond has played that role quite well and his role was heavily expanded last night. It resulted in 16 points, an absurd 23 rebounds and even 5 assists. What makes his stat line all the more impressive is the amount of energy he had to exhaust on defense as the Grizzlies put him in a high pick and roll seemingly every possession for the 4th quarter and overtime. It was incredibly hard for Sixers guards to fight through the screen of a mountain of a man in Stephen Adams. So Drummond was often left in no-mans land trying to stay in front of Morant and Bane. He seemed to hold the line well enough.
Those were 43 extremely hard fought minutes by Andre Drummond in a battle of the behemoths with Stephen Adams.
The Other Guys
Need to give a shout-out to the rest of the team given it truly was an all hands on deck type of win.
Isaiah Joe quickly scoring 10 points off the bench seems like a development that could bode well for this team given its ever present need for productive bodies.
Danny Green is a goofball but he hits some big shots for this team. Hopefully he is finally back healthy after multiple injuries. He seemingly always hits the “big shot that’s not the biggest shot so it gets forgotten about”. He hit a huge three to cut Memphis’ lead to one in OT. Feels like he does that quite a bit.
Matisse Thybulle is obviously a great defender given his wingspan seemingly rivals Doc Oc, the rival of Spider-Man. But there is a level of basketball IQ he possesses that certainly helps his cause. It was on full display on the final play of overtime when he launched the ball to halfcourt instead of trying to save it under his own rim. Even if Maxey didn’t have an Iverson moment and track that ball down, the Grizzlies would’ve had little time to score. An underrated moment in a night filled with underrated moments.