Sixers’ Turnovers Doom Them to Defeat in Brooklyn

By Sean Kennedy

It’s no secret that turnovers have been a problem for Philadelphia throughout the season, but the team put a new twist on that issue Monday night in Brooklyn. The Sixers looked like they were on Shutter Island the way they kept shifting between identities from quarter to quarter. Between the first and third quarters, Philadelphia turned the ball over a combined 19 times, as Brooklyn jumped out to huge leads. Inevitably though, in the second and fourth quarters, the Sixers looked like a completely different team, and got their giveaway issues under control to roar back into the game. In the final moments, a James Anderson three cut the deficit to just 2 points. However, after Paul Pierce hit two free throws, the game fittingly ended with yet another Sixers turnover, their 25th on the night, sealing the 108-102 Nets victory.

With Brooklyn playing without Joe Johnson, who hit 10 threes against the Sixers in a game earlier this season, it was Shaun Livingston who put up the crooked statistical number. Livingston recorded 7 steals as he took advantage of the sloppy ball security by Michael Carter-Williams and Tony Wroten (10 turnovers combined). Of course, no Sixers game would be complete without someone going off from behind the arc, and Monday it was Mirza Teletovic’s turn, who sank 5 of 9 threes for 20 points off the bench.  With Paul Pierce money from the charity stripe (14-14 for a game-high 25 points), the Sixers weren’t able to fully play catch-up after repeatedly putting themselves in the hole with their own sloppy play.

Aside from the turnovers, it was a nice game for Tony Wroten who helped lead the Sixers back into the game against the Brooklyn bench unit. Wroten had 18 points on 6-8 shooting, including a filthy euro step for a finish in the lane, and looked more confident out there after getting the start Saturday in place of Michael Carter-Williams. Speaking of MCW, he drained 3 threes but also shot just 6-17 from the floor and had 6 turnovers against just 4 assists. The rookie hasn’t shot .500 or better from the floor over the last 7 games, with his last efficient effort January 20th against Washington. I’m sure the Sixers would like to see more efficient and less careless outings from their star guard going forward as his development is even more important than winning these games at the moment.

Box Score

Notable Observations:

• After Dewayne Dedmon’s release, the Sixers played their second game with Lavoy Allen as the lone backup big man. Unlike the slaughter on the boards in Detroit, Philadelphia managed to hold their own against Brooklyn, actually out-rebounding the Nets 38-30. Of course, Brooklyn has gone small and is starting Paul Pierce at power forward so they’re not the best test case to measure your rebounding acumen against. I’d expect the Sixers to struggle against any opponent with capable big men going forward, but that’s obviously been the case all season long for the team.
• Recent reports say the Sixers aren’t interested in taking calls from teams unless they’re willing to deal a first-round pick. This is likely just a negotiating tactic by the team as I would have to imagine they’ll unload Hawes and Turner on expiring deals for whatever they get by the deadline. Still, it’s the right stance to take at this point, at least we can be fairly confident the organization won’t get swindled like in the Billy King days.

Tanking Implications:

Now the losers of 3 straight and 6 of 7 games, the Sixers have moved back behind (ahead of) the Celtics with the third-worst record in the NBA. Wroten scored 18 points for the second game in a row and MCW shook off what was a lousy game overall with some big buckets in the fourth quarter comeback effort, finishing with a team-high 21 points. It was a sloppy, disjointed affair in Brooklyn but at least Philadelphia kept this one close until the end. 4/5 tanks.