Player grades: Tyrese Maxey leads sleepy Sixers past Thunder at home
The Philadelphia 76ers began anew on Friday as they now know who will be on the roster for the rest of the season when they played host to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers were looking to continue the momentum they built by bringing in James Harden in a deal on Thursday and grow as a team.
While Harden did not play on Friday, the Sixers still had a basketball game to play. They did look a little sleepy out there as they looked like a team that had just pulled off a humongous trade as they did and playing against a struggling opponent only compounded that. Eventually, they were able to come away with a 100-87 win over the pesky Thunder.
Tyrese Maxey had a big game with 24 points and five rebounds, Joel Embiid had 25 points and 19 rebounds to lead Philadelphia, Tobias Harris had 17 and 11 rebounds, and Matisse Thybulle added 10 and three steals.
Here are the player grades following the win:
Tyrese Maxey: A-
In a game where it looked like the Sixers were struggling to play with any real energy, it was up to Maxey to be able to give the team a boost in that department and he was able to do so with some aggressive drives to the basket. Oklahoma City had a tough time staying in front of him or bothering him and Maxey was able to take advantage and get to the basket. He then got into a scoring rhythm and he helped the Sixers really take control of this game. He was a big reason for this becoming a victory rather than a disappointing loss.
Furkan Korkmaz: C+
With the Harden trade meaning no Seth Curry out there, Korkmaz got the start and he took advantage of a younger Thunder squad. He did move well without the ball which allowed him to be able to get into a little bit of a rhythm on the offensive end. He was not reckless with his shot attempts which is always something to watch with him. It was just a solid overall game.
Matisse Thybulle: B-
This was a rare off defensive night for Thybulle as he had some issues defending Thunder guard Lu Dort. There were a lot of times where he got bullied as Dort was getting to the basket and getting some easy looks. Thybulle did show off his athleticism on the offensive end as he was able to get some easy buckets, but he seemed a little out of it on the defensive end other than getting into the passing lanes for steals.
Tobias Harris: B-
This was not an efficient game for Harris as it looked like he was trying to do too much on the offensive end and it got him in trouble a bit. To his defense, he also had a lot of looks go in and out and that was tough for him. He shot only 2-for-9 in the first half, but he was big on the glass and that was a big help in this one. He then caught a rhythm in the third quarter as he was more powerful with his moves and he knocked down a triple in rhythm for the Sixers to get going on offense. He also drilled a big triple late in the fourth when the Thunder were making one last run.
Joel Embiid: B
Embiid was doing Embiid-like things as he was clearly bigger and badder than anybody the Thunder could throw on him. He had a double-double in the first quarter alone to give Philadelphia a boost with everybody else struggling on the offensive end. The big issue was that he was getting a lot of open looks as OKC really didn’t have anybody to match up with him, he didn’t shoot the ball well as he did not have the same normal efficiency as he usually does. He was missing a lot of easy looks as this was one of those games where it looked like it was tough to get up for considering everything going on.
Niang continues to just be a consistent contributor off the bench. He comes in and he gives the team a big spark and he did the same in this one as he was able to cut for an And-1 bucket. As the season goes on, he is going to continue to be an important contributor in this team’s quest to win a championship. He could have shot the ball better, but overall, it was a solid night.
Danny Green: D+
Green had a tough night shooting the ball. It also took him 13 minutes to record a stat when he grabbed a rebound in the fourth quarter and he followed that up with an assist. He did finally knock down a triple in the fourth, but it was just a tough night for him.
Shake Milton: D-
In his first game back since Jan. 3, Milton had some obvious rust. However, he did have a solid game. He showed off his speed while being able to score on a fastbreak layup and he was getting in on the glass which is good to see that he wasn’t afraid to mix it up inside a bit. Overall, he shot very poorly–he was 1-for-9 from the floor–and had some bad turnovers, but it’s understandable considering the time off.
Paul Reed: B+
Getting the backup big man minutes with Andre Drummond, Reed started pretty well. He was active on defense as he had a couple of blocks, he was helpful on the glass, and he had a nice cut backdoor for a layup. However, he had a chance to score in transition after he had a nice defensive play, but then blew the dunk due to being too fancy. That is not going to win many points with coach Doc Rivers. Other than that blunder, Reed was pretty good in this one.
1
1
