3 observations after Sixers fall to Grizzlies, stay winless at home with West Coast trip on deck

3 observations after Sixers fall to Grizzlies, stay winless at home with West Coast trip on deck originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers didn’t discover any magic over the last couple days to make up for the absences of two All-Stars.

They dipped to 1-4 on the season and 0-3 at home Saturday night with a 124-107 loss to the Grizzlies.

Tyrese Maxey posted 23 points on 8-for-19 shooting and six assists.

Star Grizzlies guard Ja Morant had 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points and Jay Huff added 20 for the Grizzlies, who improved to 4-3.

The Sixers were still without Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) and Paul George (left knee bone bruise).

Both players were full participants in the Sixers’ practice Friday. George ran sprints and went through an individual workout Saturday morning following shootaround.

Memphis had several key players out with injuries, including Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.

The Sixers will start a three-game West Coast road trip Monday night against the Suns. Here are observations on their loss to Memphis:

Warming up behind the arc  

The Sixers entered the night shooting 27.7 percent from three-point range and did not begin the game auspiciously on that front.

Andre Drummond missed a corner three on the team’s first possession as the shot clock expired. The Sixers started 0 for 6 from the floor and fell behind 5-0 on rookie forward Jaylen Wells’ three.

A trio of Kelly Oubre Jr. jumpers in the first quarter got the Sixers on track. Maxey also knocked down a couple of early threes and the Sixers ultimately scored 18 of their 28 first-quarter points from long distance.

Eric Gordon came out hot in the second quarter, swishing consecutive long threes from the right wing. He posted 10 points in the first half on 4-for-5 shooting.

For the night, the Sixers easily exceeded their prior season high of 11 made threes in a game, shooting 19 for 46 (41.3 percent) from deep. They clearly need to keep trending up from long range when shorthanded.

Grizzlies’ size wears on Sixers 

The Sixers’ early defensive work on Morant was encouraging.

Caleb…

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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-11-03 02:00:00

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