3 observations after severely undermanned Sixers fall to Thunder

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3 observations after severely undermanned Sixers fall to Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers could not overcome a gigantic difference in manpower Tuesday night against the Western Conference-leading Thunder

They fell to a 118-102 loss at Wells Fargo Center, dropping to 15-23 with their third consecutive defeat. Oklahoma City improved to 33-6.

Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexader posted 32 points and nine assists.

Sixers rookie Justin Edwards scored 25 points. Jeff Dowtin Jr. had a career-high 18 points and Guerschon Yabusele recorded 17.

The Sixers will host the Knicks on Wednesday. For the opening game of their back-to-back, they were severely shorthanded. The following players all missed the OKC game:

Tyrese Maxey (left hand sprain)

Joel Embiid (left foot sprain)

Paul George (right ankle soreness)

Caleb Martin (right groin soreness)

KJ Martin (left foot stress reaction)

Andre Drummond (left toe sprain)

Kyle Lowry (right hip sprain)

Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery)

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse again said pregame that Embiid is “day-to-day.”

Drummond is also day-to-day. He and KJ Martin have recently resumed on-court workouts, according to a team official.

Here are observations on the Sixers’ extremely undermanned loss Tuesday:

An early OKC blitz

Ricky Council IV made his first career start and Reggie Jackson started for the first time as a Sixer.

Council converted an and-one layup to cut the Thunder’s lead to 10-9. From there, the Sixers’ deficit ballooned and the talent disparity between the teams was glaring.

The Sixers allowed a 22-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to glide wherever he wanted to go. He cut free along the baseline for a layup, sliced through the Sixers’ defense for an easy hoop inside and finished the first quarter with 14 points and three assists. He began 10 for 10 from the floor and didn’t miss a field goal until the 8:01 mark of the third quarter.

On the other end, the Sixers saw why OKC has the NBA’s best defensive rating by a wide margin. The Sixers rarely created separation on their drives. When they did get in and around the paint, they…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-observations-severely-undermanned-sixers-211648115.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2025-01-14 21:16:00

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