Dwight Howard was ejected yet again as the Sixers fell to the Clippers. The Sixers now fall to 2-1 on this Western Conference road trip.
It was a tough night for the Philadelphia 76ers as they couldn’t find any rhythm. The team turned the ball over 16 times, gave up 122 points, and was called for 27 team fouls. Far from a perfect effort.
Tobias Harris and Shake Milton did their part, but with both Ben Simmons and Dwight Howard being ejected (Simmons for six personal fouls), it’d proved to be simply too tough a task to overcome.
The team’s defense as a whole was incredibly off as they allowed the Clippers to light them up from three (42.3%). Terance Mann, of all people, was unstoppable, scoring 23 points while shooting 10/12 from the field. It just seemed like no matter what the Sixers did defensively, the Clippers had the perfect answer.
The Team Needs More
One lesson learned (yet again) is that the Sixers are in immediate need of another big. Dwight Howard would not be able to avoid being ejected even if he were on his best behavior. He’s made himself an enemy to the refs and has no one to blame but himself (and the refs). Fair or unfair, Howard has shown he can’t be relied upon every night.
On that topic, Mike Scott will not cut it any longer either, and it’s up to Daryl Morey to make the change. As long as Scott is on the roster, Doc Rivers will play him over G League MVP Paul Reed.
There are already a couple of options available in free agency (Gorgui Dieng and DeMarcus Cousins) who would be an immense improvement over Scott. Now more players may become available, and that could be why Morey is waiting, but hopefully, he doesn’t wait so long that he misses out on these players.
Sixers Next Stop
The Sixers will next move on to Denver as they will face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. It’s certainly disappointing that the Sixers will not have Joel Embiid for this matchup, but the Nuggets are still a top team in the West, so it’s sure to be a must-watch game.
The Sixers will have a couple of days off to reflect on this loss as they won’t pick back up until Tuesday night. Tip-off is at 9:00 PM EST, a nice break after a row of 10:00 PM games. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia or listen live as always at 97.5 FM The Fanatic.
