Instant observations: Sixers humiliate Wizards in 45-point shellacking

Joel Embiid scored 34 points and Tyrese Maxey tore the Wizards apart in a 146-101 drubbing that ended with Philadelphia’s stars watching from the bench in the fourth quarter. A good, old-fashioned blowout was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— We saw the Sixers take the floor against this Wizards team less than a week ago, and though Joel Embiid showed up with the proper urgency, just about no one else did. Philadelphia ended up playing miserable defense for 48 minutes, with an Embiid masterclass the only thing pulling them through.

There were no such issues this time around. The Sixers were up 12-0 on the Wizards within the first two minutes, riding a barrage of threes from Tyrese Maxey and an additional triple from Tobias Harris to a cushion that would carry them the rest of the way. They stepped on the neck of the Wizards and never let them come up for air.

It was Maxey who led the way for Philadelphia, which was somewhat surprising because of Embiid’s dominance vs. this Wizards squad (and that was with Daniel Gafford available in previous meetings). We have had to beg and plead for early Maxey aggression for a lot of this season, but as soon as he got the first shot to go down on a semi-broken possession, Maxey decided that was all he needed to hunt his own looks the rest of the half. He was up to 22 points by halftime, playing at a pace that the Wizards hardly tried to keep up with.

(Speaking of which — when we chatted with Nick Nurse before the game, he mentioned that they still wanted to increase their pace of play despite being noticeably faster than last year’s group already. It certainly felt like there was a concerted effort from the Sixers to run early and often against Washington.)

When Maxey wasn’t busy bombing away from downtown, he was picking apart the Wizards as a passer, either with pocket passes to the big fella or quick hitters around the perimeter to open shooters. Washington could not figure out what to do with him, which is the problem his emergence as a shooter has created. Want to sell out on him as a shooter? Great, you now have to try to scramble back and get in the way of one of the fastest players in the league, and Maxey has improved his foul-drawing enough to punish you for trying to reach as he goes by you.

— We don’t need to throw a victory parade because Joel Embiid made light work of a team ill-equipped to guard him, obviously. Washington’s best option was in street clothes, and when Daniel Gafford outranks the available players, you know you’re in deep trouble. Still, it has been nice to see Embiid attack these weak teams with proper urgency over the last week, the big man cognizant of the idea that they all count the same in the standings.

Short-staffed as they were in the frontcourt, the Wizards threw a heavy dosage of double teams and zone defense at Embiid, and he handled it admirably, finding pockets of space in the middle of a 2-3 while reading pressure well when a second defender trying to converge on him. The turnover numbers don’t reflect that, but Embiid did exactly what he needed to do as the hub of the offense, finding the open man or going one-on-one to build that giant early lead.

The third quarter was a bit of a different story, with Embiid using the bulk of the quarter to remind everyone that he could have put up another 50-point game against the Wizards if he really wanted to. It was a beautiful shotmaking display, with Embiid hitting twisting turnaround jumpers to go along with some easy baskets around the rim. Although this is an opponent you’d expect him to draw a thousand fouls against, it ended up being one of his lowest free-throw games of the season. Washington either couldn’t get close enough to foul him or wasn’t quick enough to contest his jumpers, leaving Embiid with acres of space that he used to finish off possessions.

And yes, there were some excellent defensive moments in this one, with Embiid swallowing up Wizards players on their way to the rim. Deni Avdija made the mistake of trying to challenge him at the summit early in the third quarter, and the wing player fell to the floor with a thud after Embiid turned him away, looking down in disgust at the would-be challenger.

The best part about this game was getting Embiid and Maxey the entire fourth quarter off, with the result in no doubt heading down the stretch. Embiid managed to get his 34 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in just under 30 minutes, exiting to applause with the Sixers up by 40 points late in the fourth quarter. Stat lines locked in, victory assured, and rest ahead of you — that’s as good as it gets for a star player.

(Embiid had a mountain of turnovers in this game, but as we’ll get to below, I would file most of them under the “too busy messing around” category.)

— I don’t know what has gotten into Patrick Beverley over the last few weeks, but it has been awesome to see him find his touch from downtown. He was an under-the-radar contributor to some offensive issues early on — I never want to see him record-scratching open threes with his track record from deep — but after a couple of hot games from deep, he is ready and willing to launch right now, and it is paying off.

That’s the part of Beverley’s game that felt most likely to translate even as he ages, though I continue to be impressed with his floor game after a rough start to the season there. Beverley had a nice baseline drive for an and-one score in the third quarter, and he has shown a bit more juice off the bounce in recent weeks. Maybe the opponents have had something to do with that, but he cooked the Boston Celtics, too.

— Philadelphia hasn’t exactly been struggling lately, but this is the sort of game that acts as a “get right” night for everybody. Racing out to that 12-0 lead seemed to take the lid off of the basket for everybody, and perhaps they can build on that momentum as a group.

To run through a bunch of guys quickly:

• Marcus Morris did an excellent job of attacking closeouts in this game, stepping inside the arc for some long twos after a fly-by. I’m not always a proponent of the midrange, but I thought the vet did a nice job of balancing floor spacing with reading how he was being covered. Whatever his issues are on defense, and there are plenty, he has shot the ball damn well.
• Robert Covington was back in the rotation after mysteriously falling out for a game or two there, and he was his usual steady self, hitting a pair of threes to go along with rock-solid defense and rebounding.
• Paul Reed responded to last Friday’s benching with a return to form on both ends, putting forth more energy and activity by himself than the Wizards did as a team.
• Danuel House Jr. has been out of the rotation, and he used garbage time to knock some shots down and get some in-game reps in, which should help if he’s called upon for real minutes soon.
• Mo Bamba took a guy off of the dribble for a layup and had a powerful dunk in the fourth. He also hit KJ Martin with a beautiful bounce pass for a dunk in the final few minutes. Bamba has played some good minutes recently!

And hey, not that this matters, but everyone’s net rating will get a little boost from this game, which is nice.

— I don’t have a lot more to offer or analyze from this game. But a game like this is exactly why you don’t accept the BS effort they offered against the Wizards last Wednesday night. When this team shows up ready to go against a lackluster team, the other guys have no shot. I loved the killer instinct they showed on Monday night.

And that didn’t stop when the reserves came in for extended garbage time in the fourth quarter. Guys like Jaden Springer, Mo Bamba, and Danuel House Jr. came in and continued beating the crap out of the Wizards, running harder, faster, and longer than the reserves for the other team. A culture statement, if nothing else.

The Bad

— The only complaint I have for Embiid in this game is that he tried to get far too cute with the passing, turning the ball over on two different occasions trying to make behind-the-back passes in transition. I get it, he has been sharper as a playmaker lately, particularly when paired with Tyrese Maxey, but function is still superior to form, my dude.

The Ugly

— De’Anthony Melton’s transition layup attempts need their own category in these recaps. The Funny? The Absurd? The Impossible? I am open to suggestions. He added an all-time entry to the list on Monday by missing the first attempt, stripping a Wizards player on the rebound, and then throwing up a second attempt that missed the rim entirely. Incredible shit.

— There are some regular readers who have asked about the prospect of Kyle Kuzma on the Sixers. Watching him sulk and refuse to run the floor because Deni Avdija went up hard for the same rebound as Kuzma is a good example of why I wouldn’t want him on this team. He’s in a frustrating situation, but not exactly a guy who seems to be about the right stuff.