Player grades: Shake Milton leads Sixers past Pistons in season finale
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to end the season on the right foot as they played host to the Detroit Pistons in the season finale on Sunday night. It was the second night of a back-to-back and in preparation for the playoffs, they rested Joel Embiid and James Harden for the games that matter.
As far as the matchup with the Pistons is concerned, they focused on making sure everybody was healthy going into the postseason and making sure everybody was in the right groove. The game didn’t mean much for them as the Boston Celtics thrashed the Memphis Grizzlies so that locks the Sixers into the No. 4 seed and a date with the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs.
The Sixers came away with a 118-106 win as Shake Milton hopped off the bench and scored 30 points, Tyrese Maxey had 25 points, Paul Reed had 25 points and six rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan had eight and 11 rebounds. Tobias Harris had six, six assists, and five rebounds and Furkan Korkmaz had nine with Isaiah Joe adding eight. Philadelphia will finish 51-31 on the season.
Here are the player grades following the win:
Tyrese Maxey: A
With Harden and Embiid resting, this was an opportunity for Maxey to take on more of the scoring role and, as usual, he stepped up. This is a game where the Sixers were in a weird spot when considering their spot in the standings heading into the game as well as trying to rest guys for the playoffs, but Maxey played at his usual pace and speed. The shots he made in this one were really tough. This should keep him in rhythm heading into the postseason.
Danny Green: D
This seemed like a game for Green to just get some run and prepare for the playoffs. He showed a lot of energy, but he couldn’t get any shots to fall. He is a veteran and he understands what needs to be done in the playoffs. He’s the least of Philadelphia’s worries.
It was a usual Thybulle game. He was tough on defense and caused a little havoc out there in the passing lanes and he got himself a breakaway dunk. As Philadelphia prepares for the playoffs, whatever role he plays, he will need to be focused and active every time out there on the floor.
Tobias Harris: D
Harris had a tough time getting going on the offensive end in the early going. He took some tougher shots mostly because the stars weren’t out there to attract attention and he didn’t have Harden out there to create plays for him and get him open looks. He got really frustrated with the officiating in this one as he also picked up a technical foul.
DeAndre Jordan: B-
It made sense for the Sixers to turn to Jordan with Embiid out for this one. They want to prepare their team for the playoffs and it looks like Reed will be the backup on this team as they move forward with their postseason plans.
Shake Milton: A+
With the Sixers needing a spark, they turned to Milton off the bench and he gave them a jolt with his offense. He was getting to the basket and he took advantage of an open triple. He had 11 points in the opening quarter to give Philadelphia some help on offense. He was a consistent source of offense all night long and was a big catalyst on the offensive end in this one.
Paul Reed: A-
Reed got more of the backup 5 minutes, this time by necessity, but because Jordan started over him does give a little insight that the Sixers will use Reed as the backup center in the playoffs. This says that they want him to get used to getting back up minutes rather than starting. He was good in this one showing off some offensive moves that left the Pistons in the dust and his energy was infectious. His fouling is an issue, though.
Isaiah Joe: B+
This was a good confidence-building game for Joe. The Sixers might need him against the Raptors in the playoffs with Thybulle’s situation and a matchup with the Pistons might do the trick to get him going again. They got him open for a couple of triples and he took advantage of them. This was a solid Joe game.
Furkan Korkmaz: B
Korkmaz is in a situation where he might be needed for the playoffs, so it was important for him to see the ball go in the basket a bit. Obviously, he has been struggling mightily, but he is a shooter and shooters just need to see the ball go in the basket once or twice to truly get going again. Maybe this game will help him.
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