Sixers capitulate to Nuggets in lazy, disinterested loss

The Sixers lost their seventh straight game to close out a three-game road trip, falling to the Nuggets 144-109 in one of their most gutless performances of the season. Tyrese Maxey (28 points, 10 assists) and Guerschon Yabusele (22 points) were Philly’s only real positive standouts.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— The only solace that can possibly be taken from the rest of this season is watching Tyrese Maxey try to reclaim the form he had in previous seasons. If the Titanic has already hit the iceberg, if all of this is perfunctory on the way to the draft lottery in May, the hope has to be that Maxey will provide hope in the short term, win or loss.

Aided by a stinky Nuggets defensive effort, Maxey had an excellent game against Denver. He would have been forgiven for tired legs and poor results, playing his third game in four nights as the team’s engine while also dealing with the mile-high altitude. But he battled through a woeful shooting start to get to 19 points and seven assists by halftime, dicing the Nuggets up with speed and control.

I loved seeing some uncharacteristic moves from Maxey in this one. He scored one layup after going to his left in the middle of the floor before crossing over to get to the rim with his right, which we rarely see from him. Midrange pull-ups were attempted, even though success there was elusive, and he put real downhill pressure on the Nuggets all night long. Not the sort where he flings the ball at the backboard while falling out of bounds but with measured pace, trips to the paint with his hand hitting the glass blended with some nice floaters and runners.

All of that leaves out his passing, which I thought was very good even when it didn’t lead to assists. With the Nuggets doing a poor job of perimeter containment, Maxey did a nice job of finding soft spots in the middle of the floor before waiting out the help, firing a pass to the open man once the help came his way. He could have racked up more assists with more help from his shooters, but I was beyond pleased with his vision, save for one ugly turnover in transition in the first half.

3/10 from three is still 3/10 from three, but plenty to like otherwise.

— I want more for Guerschon Yabusele, the person, than to play out this nightmare season on a team headed nowhere fast. If they somehow keep him around for next season, it will be to the team’s great benefit, but I sort of feel like they’d be robbing him of a better opportunity by keeping him here through the deadline. He should be on a real-deal playoff team with a chance to earn himself a bag with high-leverage minutes in the spring.

Think about this guy’s journey — out of the NBA after an ineffective first stint, slowly building his reputation back up with development and production in Europe. And it’s not until he goes on a big run at last summer’s Olympics that Yabusele gets a veteran minimum contract to return to the NBA, with no promises for his role. All he has done is keep his head down, work, and try to bulldoze through the malaise of this season.

He was a breath of fresh air in this one, yelling and moving and trying to get something out of teammates who were half-interested in the game. After a two-game layoff, he came back and lit the Nuggets on fire on their home floor, combining catch-and-shoot success with some powerful post moves and drives to the basket. His highlight of the night was yet another dunk for the reel, with Jokic fouling him for the and-one:

I will remember your work even if no one else does, brother.

The Bad

— Andre Drummond’s disaster of a season has flown somewhat under the radar as a result of worse roster problems the Sixers have had to deal with. He hasn’t been good at the main things you expect him to do, and he has been worse than expected at most of the other stuff. Injury complications aside, it has been a treasure trove of uninspired, unimpactful basketball.

My “favorite” moment of the night from Drummond came when Nikola Jokic essentially conceded a layup to him, standing in cement while Philadelphia’s fill-in starter blew past him. Drummond rewarded the lack of effort by smoking the attempt at the rim, rewarding Jokic for taking the play off. Not exactly the first time he has done that this season.

— Adem Bona had three fouls and a defensive three-second violation in three first-half minutes. I’m not even mad, that’s impressive.

The Ugly

— The Sixers losing games because they don’t have enough talent is one thing. The Sixers losing games because they’re deliberately punting on the rest of the season is also understandable at this juncture. But I will be damned if I am going to sit here the rest of the year watching them play this dogshit, amateur-grade defense in transition. A CYO team would be embarrassed of the effort they have given in transition lately, and they weren’t exactly blowing anyone away with their performance in transition earlier this season.

Denver raced out to an 18-0 advantage in fast break points in the first quarter, and no, that is not a misprint. Anyone who was subjected to this game was treated to some of the most apathetic possessions of the season, with the Nuggets beating the Sixers down the floor for initial attempts and putbacks alike. If Philly managed to get somebody back for a two-on-one and overachieve with a strong contest, you could bet that nobody else would show up for the follow, leaving a Denver player by the rim to clean up the trash.

When Nick Nurse was interviewed between the first and second quarters, he told TNT that he believed a lot of the problem stemmed from their own issues in transition offense, with Denver capitalizing on Philly’s misses. There was some of that, sure, but this is increasingly a team that does not pick up their men off of Sixers makes. Those are supposed to be some of your best possessions, a showcase of your halfcourt strength. These guys increasingly can’t be bothered to get back and communicate on those plays.

The Nuggets are a uniquely great team in transition, with willing runners and the game’s greatest passer in Jokic. But it’s not the highlight reel plays that bother you, it’s the plays in between where pedestrian execution from the opponent leads to a player strolling down the lane for an easy two points. Denver walked into those over and over, padding their early lead despite their own disinterest in playing defense.

Is there a quick fix for this? I don’t think so. It’s a problem for young guys, a problem for vets, a problem for leaders, a problem for followers. They simply do not work hard enough to get back or communicate their needs as they try to. In this form, this is not a team with the talent level or familiarity to give away the “effort” points while still retaining hope that they’ll win. They should be embarrassed at how awful this is.

— This was, on paper, a decent Paul George game for a half. He was efficient on offense, which has been a massive struggle for him this season, which you’d take as a positive sign if it happened in the middle of a normal-ish year. Hey, maybe he could turn the corner, or something like that.

But I think he’s the face of one of their main problems. There is no urgency to his game, approach to the season, or demeanor on the floor. After a recent loss, George noted that the Sixers were going to need to play with desperation to turn this thing around. I haven’t seen much of that from him, whether we’re talking about the on-court product or simply his desire to play through things and try to lead by example. All year, George has taken a cautious approach, feeling his way into the season rather than trying to stamp his name on it.

Perhaps it is Philadelphia’s fault if they thought they’d get anything different — cool, calm, and collected has been his thing for a long time, for better and sometimes for worse. But in a nightmare season that has lacked Joel Embiid’s presence, they have been in desperate need of someone who will, in multiple respects, grab the game and the team by the neck. Tyrese Maxey has at least tried, whatever you think of his success rate. George’s passive approach is almost a statement itself, as if the season is happening to him rather than as a product of what he can and can’t do.

Yes, George did a good job playmaking, nearly picking up double-digit assists, and yes, it is difficult to get yours when the opponent sells out to stop you. But I would almost rather George just jack shots than look at his line at the end of a game and see that he has 11 points on 11 shots. I would be lying if I told you I felt inspired by this game or this season he has offered up.

When guys like Eric Gordon or Kelly Oubre play horrible transition defense or get killed by back cuts, you can minimize the concern because of their contracts and general importance to the organization. George, on the other hand, is supposed to be a foundational piece. Watching him float through periods of this game is a lot more distressing. And if he’s meant to be a big part of their solution to winning games sans Embiid, somebody ought to make sure he’s aware of it.