Before meeting again on Wednesday evening, but in Pennsylvania, Wizards and Sixers challenged each other first this Monday evening in the American capital. A clash won (118-111) by the teammates of James Harden (23 points, 7 rebounds, 17 assists) who, without Joel Embiid (ill), found the means to win a third game in a row.
For Washington, on the other hand, it is a third defeat in a row. Kristaps Porzingis (32 points, 9 rebounds), Bradley Beal (20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) and others may notably regret their end of the third quarter and their start of the fourth, which earned Philadelphia to take off on the scoreboard, never to let go of the controls afterwards. . Despite a slight fright at the finish…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Washington’s big air pocket. In front (71-68) in the middle of the third quarter, the Wizards then conceded a terrible… 27-6 to find themselves well behind at the start of the fourth quarter (95-77). They will certainly manage to come back to -5 in the last minute, but Wes Unseld Jr.’s men lost the match when they took on water on each side of the field. Unable to score more than one basket, they mostly let James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Montrezl Harrell and other Georges Niang play the song for them, from afar and up close. Inevitably, this did not forgive…
— James Harden in control. As in the old days, in this role of playmaker of a “very small-ball”, the MVP 2018 wandered offensively. At his own pace, he quietly cut through the Wizards defense from start to finish, distributing the game cleanly (equaled passing record, with only 4 lost balls) or scoring as needed and without forcing too much (8/17 on shots, including 2/6 to 3-pts). An outing which will undoubtedly have the merit of reassuring him and – why not – of reviving him, after his slight slack in three games.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Kristaps Porzingis. Opposed to the “very small-ball” of the Sixers, and in particular to PJ Tucker, the Latvian obviously enjoyed himself thanks to his (clear) size advantage. Author of his best outing of the season, unfortunately marred by a defeat, he showed aggression (9/9 in free throws) and knew how to alternate between being near the circle or playing further out (3/7 to 3-pts). A boss match, then. In any case more than Bradley Beal, the usual leader of Washington.
✅ Tyrese Maxey. In addition to James Harden, the entire Sixers starting five performed well tonight, from Tobias Harris (16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) to PJ Tucker (13 points, 5 rebounds), via De’Anthony Melton (16 points). But we still prefer to highlight the new good performance of “T-Max”, who finished as the team’s top scorer: 28 points. Able to take over from Joel Embiid in scoring, he made the Wizards defense dizzy with his liveliness and his ability to go to the circle, as in the second or last quarters, his most successful.
⛔ Deni Avdija. After starting the Wizards’ first six games, the Israeli is (already) out of Wes Unseld Jr’s starting five. Dropped back behind Anthony Gill in the hierarchy, so he has to readjust to a substitute role and it was hardly brilliant today: 0 points and 3 fouls in 17 minutes, with only one shot attempted (and missed, therefore).
#SHAQTIN: KYLE KUZMA’S FAILED DUNK, MOCKED BY THE SIXERS
THE FOLLOWING
Washington (3-4) : trip to Philadelphia, Wednesday evening (11:00 p.m.).
Philadelphia (4-4) : Washington reception, Wednesday evening (11:00 p.m.).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
