Vijay Edgecomb scored 25 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and made the first game-winning shot of his career to propel the Sixers to a 139-136 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
This is what I saw.
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Crunch time Edgecombe
Stop me if you've heard this before: Vijay Edgecombe got some big opportunities while the game was hanging in the balance and he made huge play after huge play for the Sixers. Perhaps the story of his rookie season was that he persevered through the ups and downs, delivering massive hitting and defensive play when his team needed it most. Add another clutch game to Mr. Edgecomb's list after Tuesday's win at Memphis.
He was 1/5 from three and scored just nine points in the final frame, and all he did was hit three threes and a pair of extremely difficult layups to help Philadelphia pull away from the home team.
Yet he saved his best work for later. With time winding down in overtime, Edgecomb screened Tyrese Maxey before halftime, and when the Grizzlies went to the upcoming All-Star Game to force someone else to beat them, Edgecomb calmly picked up the ball, went up for a jumper, and put the game away.
Absolutely zero fear at any time. It has been a pleasure to watch him get started in his first year and I look forward to seeing his development in the years to come.
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Poor defense, better offense
Giving up 40 points to a stinking Memphis Grizzlies forward in one quarter should be a lot harder than Sixers I watched it on Tuesday evening. They would have had to try to play defense to get upset by the Grizz running out the lights, but that didn't happen. Memphis was able to gain momentum by taking part in a series of practice shots and taking the lead in the process.
In this game, the Sixers defenders committed many crimes against basketball. Here are some of them:
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Was many over-assisting after one pass on a drive, something most coaches at any level wouldn't ask you to do. Nick Nurse does want to play aggressively on passing lanes and tend to force turnovers through corner threes, but didn't find the right balance against Memphis
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Their transition defense is downright abysmal at times, even after a big rebound since the start of the year. They gave up several buckets of possession immediately after their own goal and even a free throw on one terrible possession in the third quarter. Clean it up!
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The point of attack and defense from Ja Morant was, well, an adventure. Vijay Edgecombe has played a lot of good defense over the last month, but he has been a barbecue chicken for most of this game. This naturally reinforced question #1.
Here's the good news: Philadelphia's offense was as fluid as I remember on a night when all of their Big Three were available this season. Almost every player on the floor had a chance to eat, the ball was moving quickly, off-the-ball actions were used on purpose, and they seemed to lack a goal-oriented approach as they try to get the most out of their star talents. Paul George was behind Embiid and Maxey, but this group finally looked like a team with offensive firepower rather than a group of players who only met last week.
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It certainly helps when Embiid and Maxey are absolutely lethal on both ends of their two-man game. Maxey was a force of nature off the dribble Tuesday in the first half, hitting killer step-back threes as the Grizzlies could only slump their shoulders and shake their heads after watching yet another ridiculous fall. He punctuated an outstanding first half with his most ridiculous stunt of the first 24 minutes, hitting a rambling three-point runner to tie the game at 72 and send the Sixers to the break in good spirits.
Maxey's shooting combined with Embiid's powerful shooting remains a killer feature of this offense. And you can see a level of trust in each other that far surpasses any other combination on the list. Although Maxie may be reluctant to look for other teammates, when he rolls, he almost Always hits Embiid when the big man finds a hole in the defense. That trust is well-founded: Embiid scored 19 points of his own in the first half and also dished out four assists on just one turnover as the Grizzlies sent two-and-three bodies at him at midcourt. He was decisive at every level of the floor, and even late in the third half he had a sequence reminiscent of Sixers legend Moses Malone, knocking down two and three different offensive rebounds off the glass before finally knocking one off the backboard and into the net for two points.
Things got a little tougher in the second half, which isn't surprising given the Grizzlies' pretty good defense. Memphis was able to convince Embiid to take more long jumpers, and the big man struggled with both 3s and 3s at the line. This was the result of defensive coverage rather than a deliberate attempt to get the ball to Embiid, and he has to punish teams when they overload Maxey's approaches to the basket so much. Once the game went to overtime, Embiid showed the fatigue of a man who hadn't played much longer for most of the season. He was able to get them out of possession at half court with a stiff jab into a ready shot, but a wild one-handed miss followed that allowed the Grizzlies to tie the game again in the final 30 seconds of overtime.
I think the Sixers benefited from a quick game Tuesday night, given the slip that Maxey showed. horrible Late game situational awareness. With Memphis getting closer and closer in the final two minutes, Maxey made his second pull-up in the early clock with just over a minute left and hit it, setting the stage for Ja Morant to come down and tie the game with no time left. At least they got him out.
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Is Double Big here to stay?
In other Embiid news, this is probably the most excited I've been physically since the end of 2023. I'm not anywhere close to saying he's “back” or that he'll be able to reverse years of damage and injury, but his movement and fearlessness were as good as they've been in a while, and Embiid felt more adventurous on both ends of the floor. His brashness showed first on offense, as he attempted to throw himself an alley-oop off the glass to get out of a tight spot in the lane, but ultimately failed to complete the dunk and fell to the floor.
Perhaps encouraged by the fact that his lower body didn't fall apart, Embiid began playing more aggressively on defense, blocking a shot and then diving to the floor for a loose ball on one particularly encouraging play in the second quarter. These flashes may just be temporary hints at who Embiid used to be rather than who he might still be inside himself, but honestly, it's just nice to have them at all. If they can get at least 80 percent of Embiid's old self on defense while the offense stays strong, they'll have the youth and firepower to do some damage.
While the Sixers did play with Paul George as a four-guard and three-guard on the floor with Embiid, it appears Nurse is increasingly looking to get another big or forward on the court with Embiid. Dominic Barlow's skill set held up well next to No. 21, and Adem Bona got another chance to play the four on Tuesday night, where he was able to team up with Embiid for some great defensive sequences, including one in which they nearly both blocked a shot at the rim with a minute left in the second. Moments later, Embiid rushed into the passing lane to steal the ball while Bona lurked near the rim, showing good approach speed, with someone else behind him to protect the paint.
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I have my doubts about Bona, but damn I love how hard he plays. The Sixers were able to finish the third quarter strong after several baskets were followed by a wild play from Bona that capped the Grizzlies' scoring run as the buzzer sounded. As long as he's able to avoid fouls while defending switches, which is no easy task for a sophomore big man, I'd be interested to see how that develops.
Other notes
— I like that Joel Embiid felt good enough physically to attempt a dunk off the backboard. I'll also probably never need to see him attempt that play again after watching him collapse in a heap in the Knicks series, not to mention all the other dunk-related injuries that have happened in the past. Give me some big two-handed, two-legged dunks from close range and I'll be good otherwise.
“One thing I give Nick Nurse credit for is his willingness to adjust his big man rotation depending on whoever the proverbial hot hand is.” Adem Bona has outplayed Andre Drummond in recent weeks, so Adem Bona has the opportunity to play non-Embiid minutes against Memphis. I know that in professional sports everything should be so simple, but often it is not.
