Dec 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots a three point basket as Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (5) sits on the court and watches during the first half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The Cavaliers made approximately 200 threes on the second night of a back-to-back, blowing the Sixers away sans Joel Embiid.
Here's what I saw.
- While Paul George remained mired in a shooting slump on the second night of a back-to-back, Maxey set the tone early. He saw a pair of deep pull-up threes fall very early in the game, but did not let that dictate his shot diet. Maxey found edges in space against bigger defenders, changing his speeds at the right moments to get Cavaliers off balance before turning on the burners and dashing to the rim for the layup. He scored Philadelphia's first eight points, and eight of the game's first 10.
- Speaking of Maxey, he's been showing off a little counter move when he gets stuck in the paint lately. If defenders chew up space when he picks up his dribble in the midrange, Maxey will pivot away from the basket to make it seem like he's stuck and looking to pass out of it. Then, when his defender thinks he has him, he'll pivot again and step through for a leaning jumper. It looks awkward and borderline impossible at times, but he's been comfortable with it.
- All due respect to Kyle Lowry, but it's no accident that one of the team's themes of the season has been bad stretches of play immediately accompanying his insertion into games. It's not his fault. He's not supposed to be very effective at 38 years old. It's on Nick Nurse for continuing to trust him. But, you knew exactly what was to come, one way or another, when you saw him walk to the scorer's table.
In his first few defensive possessions, he got beat off the dribble by Ty Jerome, resulting in a dunk for Evan Mobley. A short while later, Lowry got stuck on a screen and let Donovan Mitchell spring loose for a catch-and-shoot corner three. To cap it off, he came up well short on a deep three, sparking a transition chance for Cleveland that ended in a three for Jerome.
On one hand, this would be a much more intense criticism of the coach if Lowry were getting minutes over Jared McCain. But, McCain is obviously out for the foreseeable future. It's not like we can sit here and say that Reggie Jackson and Jeff Dowtin Jr. are unequivocal upgrades at this point. But, if I were Nurse, I'd be much quicker to give them chances, if only to see how they fare against certain matchups on any given night.
- I'd be much more sympathetic to this latest instance of Embiid being out had the Sixers' perimeter defense been remotely formidable. Embiid or no Embiid, Cleveland doused them in gasoline and lit a match from the perimeter. They were under-manned, but they also gave themselves no chance on defense.
There was no resistance to dribble penetration, the Cavaliers cracking the first line at will and getting Philadelphia into rotation. If it wasn't the first pass, the ball found the shooter on the second or third pass, and the nearest Sixer was nowhere nearby. They got torched from three in transition, too, slow to get hands up as the Cavaliers sped up the floor. And the biting the shot fakes, oh, the biting the shot fakes. Stop closing on shooters so hard. It's ending in threes on the reset, or the nearest helper is coming over and giving up an open three one pass away. It was an absurd shooting night for Cleveland on their home floor, and I'm inclined to say the Sixers didn't do much to stop it.
- The Sixers were down 25 points with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Why on earth were Maxey and George still in the game on the second night of a back-to-back? What are we doing here?
- I don't know if I've ever seen both teams drop a defender with a crossover and stick the ensuing shot. George got Georges Niang and Mitchell got Andre Drummond. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen a Sixer cross someone to the ground and then botch the jumper. Million-dollar move, five-cent finish, as they say.
The Sixers (9-17) will host the San Antonio Spurs (15-13) on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBA TV.
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