Wizards Rain Destruction on Sixers in 116-102 Contest

By Sean Kennedy

The Sixers have discovered the perfect tanking formula: Let the other team shoot a wide-open three-pointer. Repeat. Always repeat. Washington entered play Wednesday night desperate for a win after an 0-3 start to the season. They found little resistance from the Sixers defense, as the Wizards tied the record for threes made at the Wells Fargo Center with 18. For the second straight game, Philadelphia allowed a player to set a new career high in made three point field goals, as John Wall went 5-8 from behind the arc on his way to 24 points.

The downtown pyrotechnics started from the get-go, as Washington was 6-8 behind the arc in the first quarter, dropping 39 points in the frame on their way to a 12-point advantage. From then on, the Sixers would try to make a push from time to time to get back into the game, but yet another dagger from deep would stretch the Wizards lead back to a more comfortable distance.

When they weren’t losing their responsibility on defense like an neglectful mother in a shopping mall, the Sixers were once again taking poor care of the basketball with 21 turnovers as a team. The guys simply haven’t found the right balance between pushing the ball up the court at every opportunity and throwing blind passes easily intercepted by a grateful defender. It’s tough to climb back from an early deficit when you’re giving the other club additional occasions with which to spit hot fire on you from three-point land.

Box Score

Notable Observations: 

• Sticking with the pushing the ball theme, there was an instance midway through the second quarter when Spencer Hawes snagged a rebound with one hand and in the same motion threw a baseball pass across half court to Tony Wroten. Wroten missed a semi-contested lay-up but it was a great look at the rim and a cool sequence to watch. So it’s not to say that I’m against pushing the pace; the players just need to better identify the appropriate times to do so.
• Hawes had a very productive outing, tallying 23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and recording a couple of big blocks in the fourth quarter on Marcin Gortat and Al Harrington. He was also one of the few guys who you could say weren’t at fault with the three point defense, as his man was generally stationed in the lane. Hawes was joined by fellow veteran team leader Evan Turner with a nice outing. Turner continued his efficient start to the season on his way to 24 points. The Villain also had an acrobatic 360 spin move, driving the lane and finishing with a lay-up over Gortat. If the plan is to pump up Turner’s trade value for a deadline deal, that plan is going swimmingly thus far.
• Daniel Orton sat out the majority of the game after reportedly injuring his knee. Tough blow for the young center who was playing some solid ball in a backup capacity. The Sixers will also struggle to replace him off the bench as their frontline was extremely thin to begin with.
• After Gortat almost came up with a steal falling out of bounds, he threw the ball toward the Sixers basket right to Spencer Hawes for an easy lay-in. Malik Rose: “Sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re Gortat.” Stay gold Malik.

Tanking Implications: 

This three-point defense is certainly worrisome. I recognize that the gambling defense Brett Brown has employed is all about speeding the game up and creating a chaotic environment where his undermanned club can catch opponents off guard. Still, the Sixers have allowed 15 or more three pointers three times in five games; the NBA record in a season is five (h/t @tmoore76ers). It would seem to me that it would behoove the player development of your young guys to have them grow within an effective defensive scheme and learn good habits on that end. That being said, if you’re trying to lose games, giving the opposition a ton of wide open triples is an effective way to do it. On the other end, Carter-Williams kept attacking offensively and showed good court vision in finding his teammates on a number of occasions. Obviously, his defense left as little to be desired as much of his teammates. 4/5 tanks.