Sixers player grades: Sleepy, slow effort leads to road loss to Wizards

Maybe it was a hangover from their previous road win over the Miami Heat, or maybe it was the 2 p.m. EST start time, whatever the case may be, the Philadelphia 76ers looked a bit sleepy and a step slow on Monday when they took on the Washington Wizards.

The Sixers gave up 61 points in the first half as the Wizards and the effort just wasn’t there at all in this Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee as the Sixers fell 117-98 on a tough day for them. Bradley Beal returned from the health and safety protocols for Washington and he scored 13 points as he was one of seven Wizards who scored in double figures in this one.

Joel Embiid led the way for Philadelphia with 32 points and eight rebounds, Tyrese Maxey had 18 points, Seth Curry added eight points and five assists, Furkan Korkmaz had six points, five assists, and five rebounds Tobias Harris had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting before fouling out. Georges Niang scored seven and Isaiah Joe had eight off the bench.

Here are the player grades following this loss:

Tyrese Maxey: B-

From the jump, it looked like Maxey had a tough time getting into any type of groove. The young guard out of Kentucky did get to the foul line, but that was the only thing he was able to do positively in what was a slow day for everyone. He did get it going in the second half to try and give the Sixers a spark, but it wasn’t nearly enough after the slow start. He had a tough day on the defensive end as well as Washington was constantly getting into the paint. He was at the very least active on the glass.

Seth Curry: C+

Curry gave the Sixers the lead 2-0 to start, but then didn’t score until late in the second quarter. Those buckets did keep Philadelphia in the game at halftime despite the strong play from Washington. He had a tough day on the defensive end as well as there were a few defensive breakdowns that left guys open for triples. He also did not attempt a 3-pointer late in the third quarter as he was a victim of the ball sticking a bit. When the ball sticks on offense, the Sixers are not as efficient on that end.

Furkan Korkmaz: C-

It was a tough start for Korkmaz. He missed his first couple of shots and he then committed a foul on a 3-point shooter. What he did do to help the team was his continued ability to handle the ball and find his teammates. Having him out there as another ball-handler is a big help for this group. After making some plays for his teammates, he had some nice moves to the basket to get himself going a bit. The biggest issues in this one was a tough day on defense and that he could not buy a triple which is his main contribution to this team. He was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc in this one.

Tobias Harris: D

Once again, Harris was making quick decisions to start this game. That is where he finds his most success when he is able to not think out there. He didn’t hesitate on some easy looks and he knocked them down with ease. However, as the game went on, he did not have the same success and he was missing some bunnies at the rim. In a game like this one, this is where he needs to step up and be that second star when Embiid needs help. There was one defensive play where Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma had an easy path to the rim for a dunk on Embiid and it looked like Harris was supposed to rotate over. It was just another poor defensive play in a first half full of them.

Joel Embiid: A

The big fella went to work early in this one. He drew three fouls on Daniel Gafford—one of them overturned after a Sixers challenge—and he then drew another foul on Thomas Bryant. That allowed him to get into a bit of a groove despite a tough start shooting the basketball. He then got it going as the game went on. He was scoring efficiently with his usual array of jumpers, aggressive moves in the paint, and he was knocking down the 3-ball. He just needed more help in this one to get it done.

Georges Niang: B

The Minivan gave a big lift off the bench in this one as he did in Miami. Every time it looked like the Wizards were ready to pull away in the early going, Niang would knock down a triple and keep the Sixers in the game a bit. He was helpful on the glass as well which is always welcomed on this team.

Andre Drummond: C+

Drummond entered and he gave the team a spark in the rebounding department. He grabbed six in his initial stint and he was solid on the defensive end as well as he was going straight up rather than going for a block every time. He did misjudge how close he was on an alley-oop dunk attempt, but overall, a solid performance. The big issue was his fouls as he committed five of them mostly on hustle plays.

Isaiah Joe: C

Joe missed two open triples when the team needed a spark, but he was solid on the defensive end. He had a big spurt in the third quarter when he knocked down a triple and then had a steal which led to an And-1 slam that kept the Sixers in the game when it looked like Washington was going to completely pull away.

Charlie Brown Jr.: C

The Sixers needed a spark on the defensive end so Brown Jr. got an early call. He was active on that end in his minutes, but it wasn’t a big impact as it was in Miami. He did make a nice spin move in the paint for a layup which was his first real flash of offensive skill at this level. The big help he provided was on the glass which is nice to see.

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