Lakers hand Sixers fifth straight loss as nightmare start continues

The Sixers dropped to 1-7 and continued a nightmare start to their season, dropping their fifth straight game in a 116-106 loss to the Lakers.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— At this point, I think I am pretty firmly in Guerschon Yabusele’s corner as the primary backup to Joel Embiid. The underlying numbers match what we see when these guys take the floor, and there is a big gap between their success in Yabusele’s minutes compared to what it looks like when Andre Drummond is in the game.

I think a lot of this comes down to basketball IQ. Yabusele just seems to process the game a lot quicker even though his physical limitations put a ceiling on his defensive impact. There were several possessions in Friday’s first half where Yabusele forced an errant pass, a travel, or a jammed-up possession by getting to the right spot before the Lakers’ opening could develop, using instinct to cut off plays. That’s something that manifests on both ends of the floor, with Yabusele’s constant movement and re-screening helping to open up lanes for his teammates.

Whenever Yabusele enters the game, he just seems to make things happen, and it has helped to get Paul George back to keep multiple wings on the floor at basically all times. That has helped minimize the impact of a shorter man playing center and has given Philly a chance to succeed out of zone looks among other things.

Maybe he will come back to Earth as a shooter and none of this will matter that much, but for now, firmly on the Yabusele bandwagon. You could probably convince me to start him at the four right now, honestly. Viva le Dancing Bear:

— One of the silver linings of Tyrese Maxey’s injury is the opening that has been created for rookie guard Jared McCain. The Sixers have to get him on the floor for some reps by default, rather than by choice, so he has an opportunity over the next week or two to try and fail without worrying about being immediately benched. That can make all the difference for a young player trying to find his confidence.

But the best thing you can do to guarantee yourself some PT and build that confidence is to hit some shots (easy for me to say, obviously). McCain had a difficult time finishing inside the arc in this one, but he hit a pair of threes from almost the same spot on the right wing, contributing to a big run from the bench in the second quarter:

There was a noticeable uptick in halfcourt pace for the Sixers in this game, with snappier ball movement and a few extra screens on seemingly every set. I certainly wouldn’t put that all on McCain, whose handle is one of his big question marks, but playing a younger combination of McCain/Council IV/KJ Martin seemed to help them put the Lakers in rotation a bit. Even when McCain wasn’t directly involved on a shot, he was often part of a good, quick-moving possession that ended with a quality look.

More McCain, please. If Kyle Lowry is going to be such an essential part of the rotation, I’d rather gamble on McCain’s youth and upside than play an older Eric Gordon with the reserves.

— Caleb Martin was in desperate need of a get-right game, but I would be lying if I said anybody expected it to come on Friday night with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid both out due to injury. This was, sadly, the first game of the year in which Martin managed to make at least two threes, which seems insane unless you’ve watched his wonky shot mechanics every night.

The quicker he gets his shots up, the better they tend to look. Without fail, Martin’s shots are a disaster when he waits and thinks about it for even a half second, but the instant rise-and-fire looks remind you that yes, this guy is capable of lights-out shooting for periods in the playoffs.

The Bad

— Protecting Paul George’s minute count in a game you probably weren’t going to win is a perfectly defensible decision. The last thing the Sixers need right now is to overextend their only “healthy” star and put him back on the injury conveyor belt, ruining their plans for the future.

That said, it’s certainly frustrating that he’s capped out at around 24-30 minutes a night right now because you can see the value he could offer if he was able to give it a full go. George had another rough shooting night to match his opener vs. Phoenix, but he still provided some of Philadelphia’s creativity throughout the night. He was an effective on-ball creator out of pick-and-rolls and made some nifty passes from the middle of the floor as the Lakers collapsed around him. Better yet, he kept his turnovers down, which had been an issue in each of the previous two games.

I just don’t see how he’s supposed to get into any semblance of a rhythm with the way they’re using him at the moment. He’s playing short shifts with long breaks in between, which doesn’t lend itself to hyper-efficiency or even good basketball. If they can get him up to full speed with another star next to him, I remain very optimistic about his time here.

— The Sixers were down eight points to the Lakers at the half. Andre Drummond was a -18. Single-game plus/minus is not often the most revealing stat. I think this one properly sums up the gap between Drummond’s minutes and Yabusele’s minutes this season.

Drummond did not get through the first half without some positive moments, and some old-school bully ball against Anthony Davis helped to keep the game close. The whole Sixers bench was ecstatic to see Drummond get the ball from Jared McCain on a post entry and then score through contact for an and-one, making up for some missed bunnies on putbacks. That play gave Drummond a jolt, and he would score inside on Davis a couple more times before the second quarter was over, finally looking a bit like the player fans were expecting coming into the year.

And then there was the other side of the ball. Davis is one of the league’s toughest covers right now, but Drummond had absolutely no chance at stopping him from any area of the floor. He was too slow to deal with him — too slow to get out to the perimeter for a contest on jumpers, too slow to track him coming downhill in a pick-and-roll. It says a lot that Yabusele had a better chance to stop Davis because that’s an on-paper matchup that feels like you’re just going to get beat over the head with a sledgehammer.

Even Drummond’s offensive success led to some wayward decisions and poor possessions because he got a bit too confident for his own good. I’m all for feeding the beast if he gets deep position and the seal, but I draw the line when you’re just trying to let Drummond self-create in the post repeatedly. It’s a road to nowhere.

— The Sixers have been perhaps the worst third-quarter team I can remember this season, and that trend continued on Friday. I don’t know what happens in that locker room at halftime, but they need to do some soul-searching on whatever it is that goes wrong when they take the floor for the final 24 minutes.

— Can someone unplug Kelly Oubre and then plug him back in, please? He’s back to disastrous decision-making on offense.

The Ugly

— I love the Lakers playing the Goldeneye64 watch music at the end of games.

— Kyle Lowry just has no chance to score inside the arc. A bit tough to do so when you can’t create any separation. Perhaps we should turn this into a deeper point about the team’s older veterans.

I think you can squint and see the vision for the Lowry/Gordon combination off of the bench as deep reserves in a fully healthy Sixers squad. When Joel Embiid is creating advantages through double teams every possession, guys with long track records as plus shooters will have a field day. Even then, younger and more athletic players can close the gaps and bother players like Lowry before they can get shots off. His relocation instincts and IQ can only carry him so far at this point, and there’s no ability to get to the paint and beat a closeout if the pressure meets him on the perimeter.

McCain stepping into the Gordon role and looking mostly at home there makes it hard to find the justification for playing the older guy. One needs time and development to either become a guy you trust in the playoffs or become a valuable trade chip who can help you in the playoffs. The other just is who he is at this stage, a shooter who can get hot that is not bringing future value and isn’t moving well on defense.

The Sixers haven’t been able to win games no matter who is on the floor, so you might as well try to chase some future upside and boost your on-floor athleticism.