Player grades: Tyrese Maxey’s night not enough as Sixers fall to Wizards
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers returned home from a 4-game road trip looking to continue to build off their 3-game win streak. On Wednesday, they played host to the Washington Wizards, who they just defeated on Halloween, and were looking to sweep the home-and-home series.
The Sixers received a big night from Tyrese Maxey and they knocked down 19 triples compared to just five for Washington, but it wasn’t enough. The Wizards walked away with a 121-111 victory ending Philadelphia’s 3-game win streak as they took advantage of no Joel Embiid and De’Anthony Melton for the Sixers.
Maxey finished with 32 points, James Harden had 24, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 16 and nine rebounds. Georges Niang hopped off the bench and had 13 and Danuel House Jr. had 12 points of his own.
Here are the player grades following the loss:
James Harden: B+
The Beard took a tumble early in this one and was grabbing at his knee, but it didn’t seem to affect him immediately as he was getting to the basket still and making an impact on the offensive end. It wasn’t a big night passing the ball like it was on Halloween, and it wasn’t an efficient night either, but he did enough to help the Sixers get the job done. They just weren’t able to get enough stops.
Tyrese Maxey: A+
The continued development of Maxey as this elite 3-point marksman is just remarkable. The way this young man has continued to make strides within the offense has been so impressive and it’s continuing to become apparent that he needs shots even when Embiid does return to the lineup. It’s obvious on an every night basis, he must get a ton of touches.
Matisse Thybulle: C
The Sixers turned to Thybulle with both Embiid and Melton injured and he had a few nice defensive moments. He also didn’t draw much attention from Washington on the offensive end as they just left him open and allowed him to try and do something with the ball.
Tobias Harris: B+
The consistent play of Harris continues to be a shining light for this team, but they should probably create some more looks for him. He should be featured just a bit more on the offensive end of the floor when things bog down. He is being left wide-open by opposing defenses with the focus being on Maxey and Harden. The only negative thing to be said about Harris from this contest was his penchant for dribbling too much.
PJ Tucker: C-
This was another game for Tucker where he gave a lot of effort on defense, but one can’t teach height. Wizards big men Kristaps Porzingis and Daniel Gafford feasted down low and that seemed like an adjustment Washington made from Monday to this contest. They continued to feed the ball down low and with no Embiid to protect the rim, it was easy pickings for the Wizards. On offense, he did make a big corner triple and he gave Philadelphia some help on that end.
Georges Niang: A-
For yet another game, Niang entered the game and he made an impact on the offensive end of the floor. His elite shooting ability is so important to what this team wants to do, but his defensive work in this one was shoddy, at best. He gives a great effort, but he doesn’t have the foot speed to keep up with athletic big men. His offense, though, outweighed his defensive struggles as he gave a huge spark to this team.
Danuel House Jr.: B-
There are times where it seems like House Jr. isn’t quite sure where he needs to be on the offensive end at times. That is understandable considering that he is a new addition to the team. He did finally knock down a big triple in the third quarter and that gave Philadelphia a spark. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but he did get to the foul line and got the team some easy points.
Montrezl Harrell: D
The veteran big man was able to help the offense run smoothly with Harden, but he had a lot of trouble on the defensive end against these Wizards big men.
Shake Milton: C
It was a tough first half for Milton. He committed a few ticky tack fouls including a moving screen on the offensive end and he couldn’t find a groove with his own offense. He did make two big hoops in the second half in order to give Philadelphia a boost, however.
Paul Reed: Incomplete
Coach Doc Rivers threw Reed out there in the second quarter with the Sixers struggling with Washington’s size. While Reed is not the tallest guy in the world, he does bring an energy level to the floor, and he created some extra possessions for the Sixers to score some easy buckets. However, he didn’t get a look in the second half when the familiar issues for Philadelphia popped up.
