3 observations after George leaves with left knee injury, Sixers slide to yet another demoralizing loss

3 observations after George leaves with left knee injury, Sixers slide to yet another demoralizing loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers have still not reached a turning point.

They slid to yet another dispiriting loss on Wednesday night, falling 117-111 to the Grizzlies, and will head home from an 0-3 road trip at a ghastly 2-12 overall this season.

A team meeting Monday night in Miami did not inspire a win over the shorthanded Grizzlies, whose list of injured players injured Ja Morant, Marcus Smart and Zach Edey. Memphis moved to 9-7.

Paul George came out of the game in the third quarter with a left knee hyperextension (more on that below).

Kyle Lowry opened the night on the sidelines because of a right hip strain. Tyrese Maxey returned from a right hamstring injury. He played 20 minutes in his first action since Nov. 6 and had eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.

Joel Embiid posted 35 points and 11 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. (25 points) and Desmond Bane (21) were the Grizzlies’ leading scorers.

The Sixers will start a three-game homestand Friday night vs. the Nets and continue with a season that’s rapidly descended to a dark, dark place.

Here are observations on their loss to Memphis:

Much-improved Embiid

The first couple of minutes were not encouraging for Embiid.

He got stripped of the ball on a drive about 30 seconds into the night. Shortly after that, Memphis double teamed Embiid and he searched in vain for open teammates before flipping up a very long, air-balled hook shot as the 24 seconds expired. He clapped his hands in frustration.

Embiid followed up an extremely rare zero-free throw night Monday by drawing four foul shots in the first quarter. The Sixers made sure to get him regular post-up and isolation touches early and he posted 10 first-quarter points, including a fadeaway jumper over Jackson. The offense certainly wasn’t humming all game long, but Embiid looked much closer to normal in terms of aggressively seeking to score.

Embiid also shot his mid-range jumper far better than he’d done in his three prior outings this season, which always helps.

He managed to play a…

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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-11-21 04:09:00

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