Sixers barf away game vs. Kings and waste Paul George performance

The Sixers lost in disgusting fashion to a reeling Kings team on Wednesday, dropping the first half of their back-to-back out West by a final score of 113-107.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

—A lot of ink has been spilled on debating what the Sixers need to do in order to get Paul George going. Given his track record and the expectations coming into the year, George has been one of the league’s big disappointments offensively, so those conversations are natural.

Perhaps the answer is the same as it has been for many other good players alongside big-name stars — it ain’t as easy to get rolling when you’re third in the pecking order. With a chance to play featured man on Wednesday, George got rolling early and played a remarkable first half, dropping 20 points on the Kings before they knew what had hit them.

You can see the Sixers falling into some actions they like for George and returning to them as the weeks roll on. They’re getting him coming off of more flare screens for a look at the basket from the wing, for example, and asking him to do a little bit less of the solo creation thing. That’s not to say he isn’t driving. Rather, George is getting the ball in his hands while already on the move, lessening the importance of his first step as he ages.

But underneath the tactical wrinkles and changes to his shot diet, George simply has to make more of the opportunities he is getting. Against Sacramento, he was opportunistic, canning his first open three of the night and rolling that into a midrange barrage. George hit a few ultra-difficult looks through and around contact. The tough shotmaking is jaw-dropping and only underscores how confusing it is that he has missed so many open looks this year.

When George hit the hardwood following the layup that brought him his 19th and 20th points of the night, that feeling of “Here we go again!” spread quickly throughout Sixers world. Of course, now would be the time that another injury or issue would plague George, in the midst of a heater. But the damage was not as bad as it looked initially, and George’s rampage continued the moment the second half began. On an early possession where Maxey nearly fell down trying to drive, George hit a wing three that he had no real business making, hoisting from an awkward angle with a hand in his face. Nothing but net.

As important as the shotmaking, mind you, is George’s success attacking the basket. His efficiency around the basket has steadily moved upward, and you can see the touch and craft shining through now that he’s creating the extra few inches of separation on his trips to the paint. Put it all together, and you have a dangerous man on the wing.

— Give me the version of Andre Drummond that competes hard on defense, and I will live with a possession or two per game where he throws a pass into the fifth row. He can be an impactful bench player by simply taking advantage of his existing tools, which has been easier said than done this season.

After a brief injury layoff, Drummond rejoined the team in a tough spot, with Domantas Sabonis already rolling by the time he got his first minutes on Wednesday. Drummond hit the floor with a full understanding of the situation, standing up Sabonis on several post-up attempts while evening up the battle for the boards.

One of my favorite Drummond possessions of the season came midway through the second quarter when an extra effort from him to help at the rim forced the Kings to swing the ball and ultimately reset the offense. After his teammates followed suit with pressure of their own, Drummond sealed off the paint, came down with the defensive rebound, and Reggie Jackson hit a big three on the other end to cap off the sequence. It was a moment that reinforces how basketball ought to be played, and that one guy’s actions can cause a positive chain reaction.

(George had a moment in the same vein as that Drummond play in the third quarter — he came flying in for back-to-back contests on shots by Sabonis and Huerter at the basket. He cleaned up the Sabonis play himself, but it was Yabusele who blocked Huerter, thanks to the extra second of hesitation George caused in midair.)

The Sixers also got a surprisingly bouncy effort from Drummond on offense, where he served as a post-up hub on a few possessions and scored with some nice footwork around the hoop. I’m not dialing up the Drummond offense too often, but if you can’t get a little excited watching him hit an up-and-under reverse, this may not be the sport for you.

— Since returning from a brief layoff, Caleb Martin has looked like a completely different player.

The Bad

— The Kings are pretty bad, honestly. Let’s give them this category.

— I liked almost nothing about this game from Tyrese Maxey.

The points total was fine enough through three quarters, and Maxey went deep into his runner/floater bag to try to disarm Sabonis while Sacramento’s center sat back and dropped toward the rim on possession after possession. When he had it working, it honestly brought back memories of his rookie year. But for every pretty floater, there was an equally bad attempt while fading out of bounds, or a wayward pass that he was lucky didn’t turn into a turnover. He was fortunate not to add a few more turnovers to his total, with well-timed jumps and great hands from his teammate saving him the embarrassment.

This was also a mixed-bag game for Maxey on the defensive end. He did much more ball-watching than is acceptable and was the culprit on a few of their weakest rotations/closeouts of the night. Though he probably evened that out with his steals, we know he is capable of clearing a much higher bar.

All of that could have been wiped away with fourth-quarter execution, and Maxey looked like a deer in the headlights against any coverage the Kings threw at him. De’Aaron Fox overwhelmed him with size on some isolation possessions, forcing Maxey into some garbage shots inside the arc. Sacramento also sent some effective traps in his direction, including one that led to the game’s pivotal turnover, with the Kings running the other way to tie the game on a DeRozan layup. Maxey’s next possession was a failed attempt to attack Fox off of the dribble, with the smaller Kentucky guard ultimately tossing a harmless shot up at the rim after stopping dead in his tracks around the free-throw line.

As a team, the Sixers handled the end of the game disastrously. I don’t think that’s all on Maxey — can’t blame him for the fact that George got stripped on the way to the rim — but he is the guy who is supposed to be the calming influence as the perimeter leader. He was as clueless as the rest of them.

— Here’s an obligatory mention of Nurse, because the coach always deserves some scrutiny during a crunch-time meltdown where everyone feels completely unaware of the situation and score.)

— I am not entirely sure what sort of “oral surgery” Eric Gordon had done over the Christmas period, but are we entirely sure a cavity wasn’t holding him back? Was tooth pain the only thing stopping him from being a helpful contributor?

How he looked physically was more important than the made shots, and Gordon had a bunch of those. Maybe it was just the benefit of time off for a guy in his mid-30s, but he looked to be moving better on both ends of the floor, even coming up with a perimeter block on a shot attempt in the second quarter. George would pull down the loose ball and fire an outlet to the streaking Gordon, who deposited a medium-difficulty two on the other end.

Unfortunately, he ended up playing about six minutes too many.

— The third straight game where Paul George committed at least five fouls. Something to keep an eye on.

— Sabonis has 21 rebounds. Probably should have played Drummond a bit more.

The Ugly

— Kyle Lowry, what would you say you do here? Frankly, Nick Nurse should be the one explaining, because he chose to start him and play him big minutes despite his season-long ride on the struggle bus.

What is the best-case scenario for his minutes, that he draws a charge at some point? His passing was sloppy, he can’t hit shots, and he puts no pressure on the rim. Aside from that…

— Ricky Council IV throwing a behind-the-back pass in traffic to Andre Drummond in a six-point game in the fourth quarter is a great summation of why the coaching staff lacks real trust in him. Nurse immediately pulled him after the turnover, and I can’t blame him.