Sixers build house of bricks vs. Heat, fall to 2-11

The Sixers continued a miserable season with a disgraceful shooting performance against the Heat, losing 106-89 after letting go of the rope in the third quarter.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— Even if this season does go completely off of the rails, it may end up being a success simply because they stole Jared McCain in the draft. He has been a steadier producer and more dangerous weapon than vets with far more experience, and in my mind, there should be no doubt that he starts when Tyrese Maxey returns. Invest in shooting, invest in the future.

The Heat gave McCain a nice start with some downright horrible attention to detail in the first half, helping away from McCain on two three-point opportunities that he promptly nailed. But his game has been so much more than that over the last couple of weeks, and his footwork and understanding of space continue to be a huge asset inside the arc. McCain had a beautiful half spin into a scoop layup in the first half, using a move that is quickly becoming one of his signature plays:

Even as you compare McCain to other great runs from rookies in the past, he has separated himself with consistent, smart decision-making on offense. He always seems to have an idea of where his open guy is, always seems to be able to balance risk vs. reward, and always seems to be able to get them at least a decent shot no matter the circumstances.

He has been the only bright spot in a miserable start to the season.

— I am 0.0% worried about Caleb Martin as a playoff guy for this team if they are actually capable of getting there. He has had gnarly cold spells as a shooter to open the year and I still believe he has added more good than bad. Martin’s versatility as a switch defender and his overall effort has been there even when the team stinks it up.

The Bad

— By game 13 of the season, we should probably be past focusing on the type of shots being created and more on who is or isn’t knocking shots down. But given that this has been glorified preseason for Philly to open the year, I do care quite a bit about their offensive process right now.

This was a rare game where the Sixers got bulldozed with Joel Embiid on the floor and occasionally succeeded with Andre Drummond (!) manning the pivot, but I was fairly encouraged by how Embiid managed the offense from the middle of the floor while still feeling under the weather. He only had a single turnover at halftime, and the Sixers finally showed the sort of fast-moving, ball-swinging offense they’re going to have to play in order to win in the playoffs. When Embiid felt pressure, he found the opening in Miami’s defense, and the Sixers kept them sprinting in rotations until they finally got the open three they needed.

There was a notable tactical change on offense that helped here — Nick Nurse ran more empty-side actions with Embiid early in the game, allowing him to get some clearance for his post touches and feel his way into the night. Making the simple reads out of post touches turned into more complicated passes off the dribble/on the move, and if the Sixers had veteran role players with any touch at all, they could have been on their way to a blowout win by halftime.

Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in. The Sixers, instead, are a team reliant on guys like Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre, athletes who aren’t known as shooters. They also rely on guys like Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry, formerly dangerous shooters who are too old to be relied on for anything. Then there’s Andre Drummond (non-shooter) or Guerschon Yabusele (adjusting from the European line) manning the backup frontcourt spots.

But underneath all of that is a base of veteran stars who haven’t been good enough. Paul George started the game hot and had a quick 12 points to open the game, and he continues to make an impact as an off-ball ballhawk. Yet he spent most of the game completely anonymous on offense, stinking it up from three yet again. We’ve been waiting for a version of George that burns the nets down from three and benefits from improved shot quality next to another star, and he just hasn’t been there. Either George is making tough shots, or he’s making nothing. It has rarely come easy, and that’s supposed to be the draw of building around stars.

None of this stuff matters a lick if Joel Embiid is going to look the way he has across his first three games of the season, mind you. We can give him a pass for teammates not making open shots, but he is here to be the guy who carries them through tough stretches and props them up on both ends. He looks unsure of even the basic stuff right now — he had two midrange shots in the second half that were a mess mechanically, and he has shown little to no ability to generate separation from his defender so far this year. They are cooked if this is what he has to offer over the long term, so everyone had better pray that this is just a combo of sickness and rust.

It’s basically not worth analyzing anything outside of the offense right now because their offense is worst or near worst in the league in major categories despite ostensibly having three star talents on that end of the floor. You can’t hope to get stops if you can’t make shots or produce consistent offense.

— Setting aside the roster quirks and lack of chemistry, I just don’t see this team executing basic basketball concepts well, and the coaching staff owns that almost entirely. The Sixers wasted a timeout on an inbound pass in an ATO situation in the first half, and then picked up a five-second violation in the fourth quarter shortly before throwing the ball away on another sideline out-of-bounds play.

Their lineup combinations are both nonsensical and seem to ignore the urgency they need to play with while in a 2-11 hole. Jeff Dowtin, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre, and Andre Drummond on the floor together with a fifth guy who is anyone other than Jesus Christ have no chance to succeed. And while Jared McCain is many things, he is not yet capable of miracles.

But hey, at least they also waited to play Guerschon Yabusele, one of their only consistently positive players, until the game was going off of the rails in the second half. That seems like a reasonable thing to do.

By the way, if I were Nick Nurse and the coaching staff, I would be worried about how little urgency the team is playing with in a situation where the whole team should be desperate. If this nonsense continues, someone is going to take the fall for this disaster. And it likely won’t be the big-name players until at least one head rolls.

— Kelly Oubre stinks. Fool’s gold season last year, apparently.

The Ugly

— There is a strong case to be made that Kyle Lowry should not be in the rotation at all, and Nick Nurse continues to play him extended minutes no matter what lineup they have available. There will be a time and a place for Lowry this season, and it was one thing to play him when he opened the year shooting 60 percent from deep. But he looks completely hopeless right now, and it’s worth trying almost anything/anyone else in his place.

Aside from being completely hopeless as a shooter at present, Lowry just does not have the athleticism required to make up for his size on defense anymore. It’s comical watching him try to serve as the low man or contest a driver at the rim, and his buddy Jimmy Butler had a grand ol’ time picking on him throughout the first half. McCain has been a perfectly adequate point guard, and I’d rather see them do almost anything else at the spot next to the rookie in the backcourt.

When Maxey returns, Lowry should arguably be out of the rotation entirely, but at a minimum, he can’t play anywhere near as much as he is right now.