Sixers Trampled by Bulls in 103-78 Defeat

By Sean Kennedy

Chicago missed their first 7 shots from the field Saturday night; the Sixers missed the rest. After shooting just 2-20 from downtown against Miami, Philadelphia took that same show on the road, going 0-11 in the first half to set a new season-low for points in a half with just 31 going into the break. A 13-0 run in the second quarter by Chicago put the game completely out of reach given the ineptitude of the Sixers shooters on the night. During that run, the Sixers made D.J. Augustin look like an all-star, unable to stop the simple pick-and-roll play time and time again. Augustin came off the bench and entered the break with 11 points and 7 assists (finishing with 19 and 8).

The second half wasn’t much better as the Sixers begin to unravel mentally in addition to their continue struggles from the field. On one play in the third quarter, the Sixers were busy complaining to the refs about a no-foul call and let Jimmy Butler get an outlet pass for an uncontested dunk. The lead stretched over 30 points as Joakim Noah roared out to the United Center crowd. Noah was a force of nature all over the court throughout the game, with a stuffed stat line of 21 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks. It’s been impressive to watch Chicago really become his team in the wake of the Derrick Rose injury and trade of Luol Deng.

Of course, the most tragic event, even moreso than the terrible on-court performance, was the injury suffered by Tony Wroten. Nazr Mohammad stepped on Wroten’s ankle as the Sixers guard went to turn away, awkwardly trapping it underfoot. Lavoy Allen then tripped over a prone Wroten in the lane as the refs wouldn’t blow the whistle while the Bulls had the ball. The initial diagnosis on Wroten is a sprained ankle but we don’t know the severity of it just yet. A Sixers team without Wroten is hardly a Sixers team at all, at least from a viewing standpoint. Hopefully, Tony makes a speedy recovery and return to the court. With the back-to-back performances we’ve seen from the Sixers this weekend, they need all the help they can get.

Box Score

Notable Observations:

• For the second straight game, every member of the starting lineup recorded a negative, double-digit plus/minus rating. Michael Carter-Williams has been -20 or worse both games, while turning the ball over 5 times in each contest. He’s certainly exceeded any of our wildest expectations this season, but stretches like these remind us there’s still plenty of room for improvement for the young point guard.
• Lavoy Allen returned to action after missing 4 games with calf and knee injuries. Nothing about Allen’s play was particularly noteworthy, but it was interesting that his minutes pushed Brandon Davies out of the main rotation, rather than newcomer Dewayne Dedmon. The 7-footer was extremely active on the glass once again, and while making a few mistakes, he has played with an energy level that’s in short supply on the Sixers.

Tanking Implications:

The Sixers have dropped to the third-worst record in the NBA, trailing the entire Western Conference at this point. Remember nights like these are what many people were hoping for when they were freaking out about the couple Sixers winning streaks this season. They’ll have to step their tanking game up to keep pace with Orlando and Milwaukee, who have lost 10 and 8 straight, respectively. However, on nights like these where their promising rookie point guard shoots 5-22 and there’s not many promising flashes to speak of from others on the roster, those losses will keep piling up. 3/5 tanks