Instant observations: Sixers collapse in second half, lose NBA Cup game to Pistons

The Sixers had their best third quarter of the season and still managed to lose control of the game to end it, ultimately falling 114-105 to the Detroit Pistons to kill any NBA Cup dreams.

Here’s what I saw.

When stats don’t tell the story

This was a thoroughly mediocre Tyrese Maxey game that brought back a lot of memories from last season. He had an excellent closing stretch, and the final line looks more than passable, but I thought his management of the game was quite bad for a player who has shown much greater understanding and manipulation of the game this season.

There were a lot of good, purposeful moves in early offense, with Maxey exploding through space to get around the free-throw line with space to operate. But his decision-making and touch around the paint were pretty rough, with harmless runners glancing off the rim and sending the Pistons on the break. He didn’t make up for it with his jumpshooting, either, 1/5 from three at halftime on a series of increasingly difficult jumpers. Even without Ausar Thompson, Cade Cunningham, and Jalen Duren to make his life miserable, Maxey struggled to cope with Detroit’s switch-heavy defense.

The downhill play is worth a lot more scrutiny because his reliance on the tough midrange shot zapped his ability to make an impact as a playmaker. On some possessions, one more dribble may not have earned him a clean shot at the rim, but he took drive-and-kick opportunities off the table by trying to shoot his way through a tough start. While he would eventually get himself going, it was a one-man show that didn’t bring teammates along.

Perhaps the most infuriating part of his night was his decision-making in two-for-one situations. I am all for trying to steal your team an extra shot attempt at the end of quarters, but he absolutely smoked two possessions trying to do so against Detroit. He hoisted a particularly awful runner late in the third quarter, with the Pistons turning that into an immediate Paul Reed bucket in transition. And after fighting for that final possession in the first place, Maxey’s bucket on the next possession left Detroit enough time to get off a half-court heave, which brought them within two points heading into the fourth.

That inability to close out quarters strong came back to bite them again in, you guessed it, the third quarter. Philadelphia put together its best third period of the season, but after surging to a 12-point lead and looking like they might pull away from the Pistons, the Sixers managed to give the game right back. A better start to the game from their star and this game looks a lot different.

Big-time return for Barlow

I don’t know exactly how high up the pecking order he should be or what his ultimate minute allotment should look like, but Dominick Barlow looks like a player who is here to stay. After missing nine consecutive games recovering from an elbow laceration, he came into the game at the start of the second quarter and almost immediately made an impact.

From day one of training camp, Nick Nurse spotlighted Barlow’s ability to go and get the ball as a rebounder, and he has turned an offseason observation into a staple of his Sixers minutes. No matter where he is or what type of shot attempt just happened, Barlow just finds ways to attack the ball mid-flight, which is a critical skill for a team that lacks rebounding technique. Barlow had six rebounds (three defensive, three offensive) in just under seven minutes of play in the first half, and it felt like more than that. Philadelphia had a terrific sequence early in the second quarter that Barlow was a key cog in — a strong Edgecombe defensive possession turned into a tough Barlow rebound in traffic, and then Quentin Grimes turned the ensuing fast break into a Justin Edwards three with a slick pass to the corner. End-to-end action sparked by a safe set of hands on the glass.

Beyond that, he was a legitimately helpful player in help defense, offering a second line of defense after Adem Bona was pulled up and away from the rim. Sprinkle in a chasedown block that was (correctly) overturned after initially being called a foul, and you had a perfect role player stint even without Barlow’s made corner three.

Let’s give a bit of credit to Nick Nurse for trying something different in light of their third-quarter woes all season. Kelly Oubre’s end-of-half injury forced his hand on the wing, but with Trendon Watford mostly struggling, Nurse swapped Barlow into the starting four role and the Sixers took off to open the third quarter. It worked almost perfectly, with the Sixers ripping off a 14-0 run to start the second half and seemingly breaking their third-quarter curse. Barlow’s activity was a major factor in their best stretches, and while I don’t know if he’ll start when this group is fully healthy, he’s making a damn good case for it with his play this year.

A shooting bounce-back for Edgecombe

All VJ Edgecombe apparently needed to get going again on offense was a couple of days off. It certainly didn’t hurt that Detroit was light on the wing and in the paint, but it felt like Edgecombe could have had this game against the full-strength Pistons had he gotten the chance to play them again.

He kicked his night off with a pair of free throws after outrunning the Pistons in transition, and that seemed to help him settle into the game. His transition catch-and-shoot three came next, a relatively simple shot that should be in his wheelhouse, and that kicked his confidence up multiple levels. Edgecombe would hit two more threes in the first half, each coming on a shot that raised an eyebrow for me in the PHLY studios. The rookie canned a pull-up three coming off a ball screen in the first quarter, and early in his second quarter minutes, he came off of movement before squaring his shoulders and canning a very confident jumper from the corner. Movement threes are something we saw Edgecombe experiment with a bit at Baylor, but they would represent a huge addition to his game if he hits them with any regularity.

Edgecombe used the hot start to launch what we would charitably call a couple of questionable shots, but I would much rather see the rookie skew in that direction when he feels he has it going. After a solid week of poor shooting touch for their outstanding rookie, I want him reacting to a hot start like he’s never going to miss another shot.

That said, his inside-the-arc decision-making was pretty bad, and Edgecombe took a lot of the good work he did as a shooter and undid it with wild attempts going downhill. He had a costly dunk attempt in transition midway through the fourth, trying to jump from too far out and missing the potential dunk attempt against Duncan Robinson. Detroit took the miss and punished them with a transition three on the other end.

Other notes

— Kelly Oubre’s hot shooting was never likely to last forever, but boy, it has been painful watching him take threes during this recent mini-stretch. Whatever momentum he had going from downtown has evaporated, so much so that his other shots looked like a chore against the Pistons. He nearly airballed a free throw in the first half on Friday.

The bigger news is that Oubre left this game with a knee injury and never returned, which feels like a bad sign for his health in at least the short term. Even if he is coming back to Earth as a shooter, his defense and energy have been massive positives for this team all year, so let’s hope this isn’t a serious issue.

— Justin Edwards appears to be settling in as a jumpshooter, which is excellent news for a team in need of wing play behind Oubre. I would appreciate, though, if he stopped committing at least one heinous foul per game.

— Joel Embiid sure would have been useful to have for this game against a switch-everything defense.

— I am convinced that Quentin Grimes’ decision-making is informed by a Magic 8 Ball.

— BRUTAL Watford game.