BROOKLYN, NY — The Sixers have three max players on their roster and entered the season with the goal of winning a championship. The Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, are in the earliest stages of one of the NBA's most obvious rebuilds, with their sights set on landing a top draft choice next June. On Wednesday, they only used four players with significant NBA experience.
Now, the Sixers and Nets have the exact same record: 20-34.
The Nets handed the Joel Embiid- and Tyrese Maxey-less Sixers their fifth consecutive defeat on Wednesday night. In a long list of discouraging Sixers performances this season, this one ranks high on the list — with one player's brutal showing standing out among many. Here is what stood out from the Sixers' horrid 100-96 loss in Brooklyn:
Paul George goes silent in a time of need
It goes without saying that the Sixers missing their two highest-usage offensive options is an inherent call for George, the nine-time All-Star, to take ownership of a significant scoring load. He did just the opposite.
In the first half, George played 19 minutes and didn't score. He only attempted three shots during that time, failing to signal any sort of aggression whatsoever. The same trend continued in the second half, with Kelly Oubre Jr. being the only Sixer to really play with force on the offensive end.
George is still adjusting to playing with a split on his left pinky finger, but this sort of showing, given the circumstances, was just not compatible with the Sixers winning, even against a lowly Nets team with clear lottery ambitions. Not only has he has been a complete non-threat to score since returning from his injury, but he has also failed to create any offense as a ball-handler. And on this night, his stunning lack of offensive aggression was marked not only by his frighteningly low number of shot attempts, but also his lack of creation flashes for any of his teammates.
There is not much to say about the player George has been since returning other than this: if playing with a splint prevents him from establishing any rhythm as a shooter, scorer or shot creator, perhaps the team should reevaluate whether he should be on the court. Because as brilliant of a career as George has had, this version of him — the one that scored only two points in 37 minutes against the lowly Nets — has not been even close to good enough.
Maxey misses second game since November due to right knee contusion
Maxey's brilliant stretch of 18 consecutive games with at least 25 points came to a screeching halt in the Sixers' gutting loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Maxey's first and only made shot of the en tire night came late in the fourth quarter, as he scored five points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field in 34 puzzling minutes.
After the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse hinted that Maxey was dealing with some sort of physical ailment that the team would evaluate.
Nick Nurse was asked about Tyrese Maxey being out of rhythm tonight: "I don't really want to speculate too much before I talk to him. I have a feeling that there's something — I hope not — but I think there might be something physically bothering him." pic.twitter.com/7opS6qmWcR
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 12, 2025
Maxey said on Tuesday that he was "fine," but specifically declined to say he did not have an injury. A coach volunteering such a theory is usually a telltale sign that some sort of news on that front is coming, and sure enough, the Sixers said on Wednesday evening that Maxey had been downgraded to questionable due to a right knee contusion. Minutes later, they confirmed that he was joining Joel Embiid, Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon on the inactive list, ruling Maxey out for just his second missed game since returning from an extended absence he had in November caused by a hamstring injury.
Nurse said on Wednesday that Maxey's contusion happened on Tuesday when he banged knees with an opposing player. He did not offer any specifics on a timeline, but did not seem remotely concerned that Maxey would miss time — and the week-plus of time off will surely do Maxey some good.
Odds and ends
Some more notes from Brooklyn:
• Jared Butler struggled to finish around the rim in his first start as a Sixer, but consistently found ways to penetrate despite limited burst. He is a terrific drive-and-kick player, enabling him to collect six assists in the first half. Credit to him for launching a shot from well beyond half-court to end the first half, going for three points instead of preserving his shooting percentage. He was nearly rewarded with a miraculous make.
• Quentin Grimes' offensive aggression has been extremely impressive since his arrival with the Sixers, and unlike George, he understood that with Maxey and Embiid sidelined, he needed to hunt his own shots from the outset. In his first start as a Sixer, the fourth-year player did just that, from inside the arc and from three-point range.
Qdot with the exclamation point❗️ pic.twitter.com/E5ud036CGv
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 13, 2025
• Nurse indicated that Andre Drummond and Adem Bona would both rejoin the rotation to help fill the void left by Embiid, but with the first half almost over, only the veteran Drummond had appeared. Then Drummond launched an ill-advised three-point shot with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, Nurse called a timeout and the rookie Bona was in the game. In the second half, it was Bona who backed up Guerschon Yabusele first, with Drummond entering later.
Up next: The Sixers will have eight days off as they head to the All-Star break. Their first game back in action will come on Thursday, Feb. 20, when they play host to the Boston Celtics.
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