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Sixers Notes: Defense, Bench, Embiid, Brown

October 23rd 2022 at 8:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers thought their offseason moves would make them a title contender, but they haven’t looked the part through the first week of the season, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. After opening with losses to the Celtics and Bucks, Philadelphia dropped to 0-3 on Saturday by falling at home to the rebuilding Spurs.

“I’m happy that we are going through this right now,” said James Harden, who admits that “everything” needs to be addressed. “We don’t have fool’s gold. We got to work through it. We gotta figure it out on both ends. Realistically, it’s a good thing for us.”

The most obvious issues have been on defense, which the Sixers focused on upgrading this summer. Pompey cites a lack of intensity on that end of the court and an inability to stay in front of wing players. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Doug McDermott all had big games Saturday as the Spurs shot 48.3% from the field, including 42.1% on three-pointers.

“We do have to give them credit. They made tough shots,” Tobias Harris said. “But on our part, that’s not the standard of defense that we hold ourselves to.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • The Sixers aren’t getting enough production from their bench, Pompey adds. Their reserves were outscored by San Antonio’s, 40-10, with Georges Niang contributing eight of those points. Montrezl Harrell, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House and Matisse Thybulle shot a combined 1-of-6. Pompey notes that Thybulle gives the team a stronger defensive presence, but he has barely been used so far this season.
  • Joel Embiid dealt with plantar fasciitis this summer that affected his ability to train, tweets Sixers reporter Derek Bodner. Embiid said it began to affect him during team workouts in July, and it reached a point where he couldn’t walk. “Coming into training camp I hadn’t done anything in like two months, so it really slowed me down,” he said. “Still trying to work my way back and hopefully everything goes back to normal.”
  • Former Sixers coach Brett Brown was back in Philadelphia on Saturday for the first time since getting fired in 2020, Pompey adds in a separate story. After being out of the NBA for two years, Brown rejoined the Spurs’ coaching staff in June. “He meant a lot,” Embiid said. “Obviously, he started the whole thing and things didn’t work out the way they should have. But he did a great job and he’s one of the reasons why we’re in this position.”
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