Doc Rivers, Sixers express frustration after bad road loss to Hawks
The Philadelphia 76ers had something moving in the right direction after a Monday win over the Phoenix Suns. They had Joel Embiid return to the lineup and they picked up what could be called their most impressive win of the season.
They rolled into State Farm Arena on Thursday looking to build off that win, but the Atlanta Hawks sent them to another loss as they came away with a 104-95 win. They held Philadelphia to 38.6% shooting, 6-for-30 from deep, and they committed 17 turnovers, leading to 19 Atlanta points.
Just for context, the Sixers only had 15 assists on the night compared to their 17 turnovers.
“Turnovers all game,” coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “We had more turnovers than assists tonight. I thought a couple of things. We missed a lot of wide-open shots. Miss layups, I mean probably seven layups, wide-open 3s, and that’s going to happen. That is, but then the turnovers on top of that, and I thought each miss, the frustration, you can literally see it started to lead to no passing, and then it really leaked in on the defensive end.”
Doc has a low approval rating from fans, but feel like tonight has more to do with the team shooting 19-for-41 on shots 14 feet and closer and 6-for-26 from three.
Offensive structure is a problem, but guys flat-out botching basic shots.
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) November 11, 2022
The thing is, it isn’t like the Hawks were having a ton of offensive success on their side of things. They shot 44.3% from the floor which is obviously better than Philadelphia, but not great, and they shot only 6-for-26 from deep. They also committed 18 turnovers on the night. Philadelphia’s defense was right there, but their struggles on offense held them back.
“We got a lot of stops, but our offense hurt us,” added Tyrese Maxey to reporters. “The offense and the defense are tied together. So when we turn the ball over and when they get run out, that’s how they were scoring.”
The Sixers will have to face the Hawks again at home on Saturday as they will be looking to bounce back.
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Player grades: Trae Young, Hawks find way to overcome Joel Embiid, Sixers
