The Philadelphia 76ers took on the Phoenix Suns Saturday afternoon for a matinee matchup. For the past few years, the Phoenix Suns have been one of the top teams in the entire NBA. Although Phoenix was without Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in their lone visit to Philadelphia this season, they still had Kevin Durant. Yet, even he wasn’t enough to slow down the new-look Sixers.
Oubre’s hot start continues
Kelly Oubre, Jr. continues to impress as one of the newest Sixers. He was chosen as the player of the game by the CSN Philly broadcast after putting up 25 points on efficient shooting (10-18). It’s easy to see why his overall game and production are welcome by the Philly fan base.
A tremendous upgrade from PJ Tucker last season, Oubre, Jr. offers a lot more offensive punch and is just as effective on defense. In this game, Oubre, Jr. was able to score in diverse ways. His offensive production added another threat to a system that already features Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
A tale of two halves
Speaking of Maxey. He had a slow start to the game, contributing in other ways in the first half that didn’t involve his scoring. He was a key distributor and hustled after loose balls and offensive rebounds.
After a hot season start, he has cooled down since winning Offensive Player of the Week in the Eastern Conference. This was huge for the newly turned 23-year-old. Against Phoenix, he had his struggles shooting the ball.
Despite those early struggles, Maxey bounced back nicely in the second half, shooting 83 percent (5-6) from the floor and displaying more aggression. Nick Nurse admitted in the post-game press conference that Maxey is “too good of a scorer to not take more chances.”
Playing with pace
Another key aspect of the game is how quickly the Sixers attempted shots. The emphasis of Nick Nurse’s offense was not to rush shots but rather to keep Phoenix on their heels in transition. It was clearly effective, allowing the Sixers to not only go up early but remain up in the end.
It seemed that Nurse wanted everyone to get shots up and not have to wait on Joel Embiid in the half-court as they did all last season. With movement and laser focus on not letting the Suns’ defense get set, the Sixers took advantage of their fast-paced offense.
The Sixers committed 17 turnovers, so the execution throughout the game was not always precise. However, with Embiid, Maxey, and Oubre, Jr. each scoring over 20 points while Tobias Harris chipped in 18 of his own, the offense appears to be as potent as it’s ever been for Philly.
It was another day at the office for Joel Embiid, scoring 26 points. A key result in the Sixers’ ability to maintain their lead was affording Embiid time to rest on the bench. He never saw the floor in the fourth quarter.
Next up? The Washington Wizards visit the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night; tip-off is at 7:00 PM.
