Dec 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) reacts against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Paul George controlled the tempo for Philadelphia as the Sixers rebounded from Wednesday's loss to split the two-game home series with the Orlando Magic.
Here's what I saw.
- Kudos to Tyrese Maxey, who did not let himself forget that he could redeem offensive struggles on the defensive end of the floor. After a rough, rough night on offense in Wednesday's loss to the Magic, he came out of the gate with outstanding effort on the defensive end of the floor. Orlando tried to pick on him very early in the game, spotting a mismatch in the post with only Maxey standing in Franz Wagner's way. He stood Wagner up and forced him into a contested midrange jumper. Maxey had a dig against Jalen Suggs a short while later, standing his ground and forcing the guard into a similar shot that clanked off the rim.
It wasn't just a bad night at the office that elicited Maxey's pride on the defense end of the floor. He's strung together a stretch of games making defensive plays that go the extra mile. It's not just admirable because of his size. It's even more impressive because of his usage on offense. It's very easy for small guards to mail it in on that end of the floor, especially when they're cooking on offense. Hot or not, Maxey has not viewed his job as a one-side-of-the-floor gig.
- It wasn't the most dominant night of scoring for Paul George by any stretch of the imagination, but he was very clearly one of the two best players in the game. George led with a phenomenal floor game.
He worked the pick-and-roll with Andre Drummond, threading the needle on bounce passes to his roller. George slashed, drew help and made good passing decisions, either kicking to a teammate on the perimeter to get Orlando into defensive rotation or drawing multiple defenders in the driving lanes and dropping the ball off to teammates at the rim. His passing goggles didn't just work in the halfcourt, George finding KJ Martin from close to mid-court for an alley oop.
Save for one decision that resulted in a Wagner transition three, George knew when to advance the ball quickly and when to slow things down, controlling the tempo of the possession. He probably trusted his teammates more than I would have if I were him, quite frankly. But, he rarely forced anything.
He was still the alpha scorer for Philadelphia, relying on his high release to create space for midrange jumpers on the step-back early in the affair. He attacked the rim with strength, finishing through contact.
- It was certainly not Jared McCain's finest hour in the first half, the rookie getting punked by Suggs for two steals from behind in transition. But, Nurse's decision to start Kelly Oubre Jr. over him accomplished precisely nothing. If you want to adapt to Orlando's length, the answer might just be that you don't. Instead, you get your best offensive players on the floor and live with the results. Wagner, who took a blow torch to Philadelphia on Wednesday, scored 15 of Orlando's first 19 points in the game. Safe to say that wasn't the plan.
- The offensive process when the ball was in Maxey's hands was boring at best and completely unproductive at worst. You guys will be shocked to read this, but turns out Orlando didn't have to think much when the screener wasn't a dynamic offensive threat. The coverage became a blitz, and Maxey dribbled aimlessly until the helper retreated back to the screener. All it did was eat precious seconds off the shot clock.
Here's an idea: have George screen for Maxey or vice versa so that the Magic actually have to solve problems in real time.
That's about coaching as much as anything. What are you working on in practice to solve problems within the flow of the game?
Editor's note: McCain screened for Maxey in the middle of the third quarter and it yielded the rookie guard a relatively easy layup. I'm just sayin'.
- Make.Your. Free. Throws.
- I've changed my mind on the replay review/challenge feature. It does nothing but waste time, make everyone cranky and force you to question whether you understand the rules of basketball. The Sixers are horrible at challenges. But, it feels like every challenge goes something like "OK, let's see how they justify screwing this one up".
The Sixers (6-15) will visit the Chicago Bulls (10-13) on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m., Eastern time. You can catch the action on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
