It was the poster of the evening between two teams that follow each other in the Eastern Conference standings, and its outcome turned in favor of the highest ranked team. In Ohio, the Sixersthird in the conference, won for the sixth time in a row against the Ridersfourth, who lost for the second time in four games.
Rather “favorites” on paper given their excellent recent dynamics, Doc Rivers’ men have built their success around their usual weapon of mass destruction: the “pick-and-roll” between James Harden And Joel Embiidthe two players each offering a huge double-double.
At 28 points and 12 assists (with 6 rebounds and 3 steals) for the first who notably scored 10 points in the last quarter to beat down the eye-catching Cavaliers, and at 36 points, including 15 points in the first quarter, and 18 rebounds (with 3 assists and 4 blocks) for the second, determined to give Nikola Jokic a hard time until the end of the season, in the race for the MVP.
Not particularly inspired when the leather left the hands of the bearded leader or his massive teammate, since only Tyrese Maxey And Shake Milton exceeded the 10 points scored, the Sixers’ attack, on the other hand, shone behind the arc, the distance at which the players of Philadelphia scored 17 award-winning shots. That was necessary to limit the damage of their 18 stray balls (including 10 cumulative for Harden and Embiid), which resulted in 23 points conceded…
Coast Cleveland, it was a serious match in which the players of JB Bickerstaff generally made a good impression. But the lunar level of “shotmaking” of James Harden and Joel Embiid was simply too tiring to defend in the long run, like this last quarter with 36 points conceded, after three first acts much more serious defensively.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– James Harden and Joel Embiid, simply above the rest. The Cavaliers must say to themselves that there was simply nothing to do when the two teammates evolve at this level. Through the Cameroonian pivot during the first three quarters, then the American leader who took over and dealt the blows in the last act, the Sixers’ attack varied very little, relying almost exclusively on the “pick -and-roll” between the two players, but worked terribly well. Rolls to the circle or off after the screen, finishes in the key, halfway or simply on the free throw line where they accumulated 19 passes between them, James Harden and Joel Embiid were worn out, sickened , exhausted the defense of Cleveland, which nevertheless held firm collectively for nearly forty minutes before yielding in the final stretch of the last quarter. And when, icing on the cake, the outside shots come in at a high volume as was the case during this match, especially from the second knives, the Philadelphia squad is not far from being indefensible.
– Even in wins, the Sixers’ bench remains a problem. Everything is indeed not perfect for Doc Rivers and his men, despite a series of 6 straight wins. A recurring problem throughout the season, the production notably once again left something to be desired, with only 19 points scored. The huge individual cards of James Harden and Joel Embiid, combined with great outside skill as was the case this night, make it possible to circumvent this problem and get by in games disputed in the regular season, but the formula will not be not always viable in the playoffs.
TOPS & FLOPS
✅ Tyrese Maxey. In the shadow of his two water-walking teammates (and the Cavaliers defense), the dragster of the Sixers performed brilliantly in the role of the sidekick: 23 points at 8/14 on shots, 4 rebounds and 3 assists (but 3 ball losses).
✅ Caris LeVert. While Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell delivered serious matches despite a calmer presence than usual in attack, with only 36 points in total, the Cavaliers joker brought what was needed in this area when coming off the bench: 24 points at 8/14 on shots including 5/10 behind the arc, including 15 points in the second quarter alone, with 6 assists.
⛔️ Tobias Harris. Anecdotal outing for the veteran winger, not far from being useless in attack. His +/- at the final buzzer was very good (+17) precisely thanks to low risk taking in attack, and 5 rebounds, an assist, an interception and a block on his stats sheet, but overall his performance was very largely a notch below the rest of the holders.
THE FOLLOWING
– Riders (44-28): reception of the Wizards, on the night of Friday to Saturday (00:30).
– Sixers (46-22): trip to Charlotte, on the night of Friday to Saturday (00:00).
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