Coming off an overtime win, the Philadelphia 76ers lost in overtime to the Memphis Grizzles 112-106 on Saturday night.
To be honest with everyone, I forgot the Philadelphia 76ers had a game tonight. News of the Jimmy Butler trade took everyone by surprise and demanded a ton of attention. It turns out that Philadelphia did play tonight, and it was against the Memphis Grizzles.
The Grizzles are a team that prides itself on playing defense that is meant to wear you down over time. Coming off of an overtime game last night, that’s exactly what happened to the Sixers.
It also didn’t help that the team was incredibly shorthanded, mainly due to the Jimmy Butler trade becoming finalized. Dario Saric and Robert Covington weren’t available, as they are being dealt to Minnesota.
The Sixers actually started the game hot and looked surprisingly good. The team hit 7/16 from deep and were in control, for the most part.
That was until the cursed third quarter came. The Sixers are known to cough up leads in the third quarter and that’s exactly what happened.
Mike Conley poured in basket after basket, and the Sixers really didn’t have an answer for him. The Sixers couldn’t keep pace with the Grizzles’ scoring, whether it was the Memphis defense or tired legs.
The game progressed into overtime and the Grizzles took full control. The Sixers only scored four points in overtime and the rest was history.
Being so shorthanded many players got playing opportunities that we typically don’t see, so let’s get into a weird edition of player grades:
Markelle Fultz played very well on offense tonight. Brett Brown decided to play Fultz alongside Simmons most of the game, which is the main reason his assist numbers were so low. Markelle Fultz was very efficient from the field, shooting 7/9 on his field goal attempts. Fultz managed to put up some solid defensive numbers, and had some nice blocks around the rim.
It would be really nice to see Fultz start attempting more threes, as he has gone a few games without doing so. Fultz’s future with the team has recently been in question, and trading for Jimmy Butler has definitely not helped Fultz’s case.
Ben Simmons put up solid numbers for the game. The Grizzles had a solid game plan when it came to defending Simmons, but it really didn’t matter. He scored 18 points on efficient shooting. Simmons also had some nice defensive plays throughout the game, in which he defended the likes of Marc Gasol well.
Unfortunately, Simmons was a huge part of why the Sixers lost the game in the end. Garrett Temple did an excellent job getting steals from Simmons toward the end of the contest.
It was a rough night for our franchise player, Joel Embiid. The entire night he could not find a groove on offense. It’s understandable, as he was guarded by former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.
Also coming off a back-to-back, Embiid logged almost 40 minutes in the game. Between this and the overtime Hornets game, this is the most Joel Embiid has ever played in a two-game span. Even with the rough night, he managed to grab 16 boards and have a positive plus/minus.
J.J. Redick put up one of his nicest games in awhile, which was plseant to see. He was a huge reason the Sixers looked very good in the first half, as he was torching the Grizzles’ defense. This was good to see and there’s a very good chance that Redick ends up starting with the team again once Jimmy Butler arrives.Redick has shown that he can come off the bench or start and be a quality player. Going forward, don’t be surprised if you see Redick in the starting five.
It’s amazing that T.J. McConnell still surprises people with how well he plays the game. For the most part, Mcconnell has been buried in the point guard rotation due to Fultz and Simmons. It’s incredibly impressive that T.J. can come off an extended period of not playing and put up great stats.
Brown elected to go with McConnell in the fourth quarter and overtime, and it really paid off. McConnell managed to hit clutch shot after clutch shot, and had several great assists for his teammates.
This loss was to be expected. The Sixers were shorthanded and coming off an overtime game the night before. The team may have to play shorthanded for one more night on Monday, when they take on the Miami Heat.
The trade call involving Jimmy Butler could be finished sometime on Monday, so his status will be up in the air.