LOS ANGELES — Here are five takeaways from the Sixers 122-112 loss to the Clippers as well as the team falling behind in the Eastern Conference arms race.
Doc Rivers’ return was underwhelming. The Clippers had a nice tribute video for Rivers, who coached the franchise for seven seasons, though with no fans in the Staples Center, something felt off. The moment was underwhelming…just like the Sixers tonight.
The Mike Scott experiment is ongoing but results have varied. Scott started for the second-straight game, coming out alongside Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, and Tobias Harris. The Threegional Manager went 1-6 for three points while going -6 in 29 minutes of action.
When everyone is healthy, it’s hard to imagine Scott having a major role. There are other ways to get the Ben-at-the-five look when Joel isn’t on the court (Perhaps some minutes of Furkan Korkmaz or Matisse Thybulle in there for Scott if they want to continue to untraditional look).
Dwight Howard needs to be more disciplined. Howard was ejected after picking up second technical foul for the second-straight night. Rivers, who has previously spoken about Dwight needing to control himself, said the big man wasn’t the only one who was frustrated tonight.
Philadelphia was able to overcome losing Dwight early against the Lakers on Thursday; they weren’t able to do the same on Saturday vs. the Clippers. Howard’s minutes at the five may never be more crucial than they are with Joel Embiid sidelined (update on Embiid: he has resumed on-court activities).
Tobias Harris continues to showcase ability in a larger role. Mr. $180 million dollars-and-a dream efficiently dueled Kawhi Leonard tonight, going 13-19 from the field for 29 points. Harris’ continued development is a positive sign, one that bodes well for any hope of competing offensively with the top contenders in the league.
The Nets continue to build their superteam but Rivers isn’t peeking over his shoulder. Rivers was asked about the news of Brooklyn signing LaMarcus Aldridge pre-game.
“I don’t worry about it, to be honest,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We’re kind of worried about ourselves and that’s all we can do. We like our team. We like who we are. We like how we play. So I don’t give it a lot of thought.”
It wasn’t just the Nets that improved. The Bucks got better by adding P.J. Tucker last week. The Heat got better by swinging a pair of trades, including the Victor Oladipo acquisition. Of course, Philly got better on paper with the George Hill trade (and I believe he’ll help them tremendously in the second-unit) but Hill remains out with a thumb injury. The point guard is expected to return to on-court activities in the coming days, and while other teams will see their help immediately, Philadelphia will have to wait a bit longer.
