Player grades: Cade Cunningham leads Pistons past Joel Embiid, Sixers
DETROIT–The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road on Thursday looking to bounce back from a tough loss at home on Tuesday. Their opponent in this one was the Detroit Pistons who entered the contest with the 14th best record in the East at 20-56. Even with that record, the Pistons gave the Sixers a battle.
Philadelphia led for a majority of the game, but their largest lead was only eight as rookie Cade Cunningham kept Detroit in the game and, eventually, the Pistons were able to upset the Sixers 102-94. Cunningham had 27 points to pace Detroit and help the team get the job done while Saddiq Bey had 20 points.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 37 points and 15 rebounds, James Harden had 18 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, Tobias Harris added 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting and five rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey had 13. The bench unit could only muster up eight points on an overall tough night compared to 39 for the Pistons.
Here are the player grades following a bad loss:
James Harden: B-
With Embiid going to work on the offensive end, Harden was quiet in the first quarter. It was in the second quarter when Embiid was on the bench where Harden was much more aggressive. He realized that there was really nobody on the Pistons who could defend him and he put his stamp on the game. The step back triple was in full effect for him in this one as the young Pistons struggled in that area defending him. He was able to get to the line as usual, but struggled shooting the ball. He also had a few bad turnovers in the fourth quarter that really killed the Sixers.
Tyrese Maxey: B
When Maxey is being aggressive, that changes things for Philadelphia. The Sixers know that Embiid and Harden will get their own offense when the time calls for it, but Maxey has to go get his as well in the midst of all of that. He’s an important piece to this team as a creator for his own offense as well as others. His aggressiveness was welcomed in this one.
Matisse Thybulle: C-
This game showed the best of Thybulle and the worst of Thybulle. He was a menace on defense as Detroit had no clue what to really do on offense when he was in the game. His length bothered them all night long. Then, there was his play on the offensive end where he missed an open triple and then had a fast-break layup that he just missed. He struggled a bit 1-on-1 with Cunningham, but the Pistons also did a good job of screening him off of the rookie. His team defense was still very good.
Tobias Harris: B+
One can see Harris continuing to get more and more comfortable out on the floor in his new role within the offense. He understands where he will get his shots and he is able to get into a rhythm rather quickly. He knocked down a triple early and he was moving well without the ball which allowed him to get some easy baskets off the catch. He probably should have gotten more shot attempts in this one.
Joel Embiid: A+
The Pistons are a physical group led by second-year big man Isaiah Stewart who can get under the skin of a lot of big men in this league and it seemed to bother Embiid early. Once the Pistons switched Marvin Bagley III and Kelly Olynyk on him, that is when the big fella used his body and began to dominate in the paint. That then allowed him to get into a groove and the big fella would not be denied in this one. He had so many impressive moves that a guy his size should just not be able to make. When he re-entered the game in the fourth, he couldn’t get the same rhythm and he committed a few turnovers that fueled Detroit.
Shake Milton: C-
Just like everybody else, Milton also struggled on the offensive end. He worked his way into the paint, but he wasn’t able to finish. He did pull down a rebound, however. He did give the team their first bench points on a triple in the third quarter.
The Minivan was able to set himself up for some open triples, but he wasn’t able to take advantage of them early. Philadelphia’s bench as a whole really struggled in the first half as they weren’t able to really give the starters much help. He didn’t score until late in the fourth when the game was decided.
Danny Green: D-
The veteran missed a triple in the first half at the end of the shot clock and picked up two fouls. That was a microcosm of the bench issues in the first half. He at least grabbed two boards.
DeAndre Jordan: D-
Jordan was a minus-4 in five minutes in the first half, but the entire bench unit was a minus so take that with a grain of salt. He did have a block on the defensive end, but the bench just had a tough time getting anything going. He had a dunk in the fourth quarter to give some offense. Overall, he was a minus-9 in 10 minutes of play.
Furkan Korkmaz: F
Korkmaz got his first run since the matchup with the Clippers and he immediately got beat backdoor for a layup and he also missed an open triple.
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