Little J Sparks Dubs’ Win Over Philly’s Big J
By: Esteban Schear
San Francisco - It’s no surprise when Philadephia’s Joel Embiid has a big night against the Golden State Warriors. At 7 feet, 280 pounds, Embiid outsizes the biggest Warrior, Kevon Looney, by 30 pounds and 3 inches, and towers over most of the rest of the Dubs. He leads the league in scoring, and he’s one of the top two candidates for MVP this year, along with Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Embiid hits mid-range jump shots and floaters around the basket with ease. When the Sixers came to Chase to play the Dubs for a Friday night game, he lived up to expectations, with 46 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.
That wasn’t enough for the Sixers, who ended up losing 120-112, because the Warriors’ Jordan Poole played what was likely his best game of the season. He scored 33 points on 10 for 19 shooting, including 6 for 11 on three’s, with only one turn-over. In the middle of the second quarter, Poole bounced off the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey, knocking him to the ground, and then hit a quick three. And that was only a preview of what was to come.
The game was extremely close most of the night. In the first half, the Warriors biggest lead was 8 points, but most of the time neither team had more than a two or three-point advantage. The first half ended with the Warriors leading by just 55-53. The game continued to be tight most of the third quarter, but the Sixers built a nine-point edge by the end of the quarter with very tough defense and hot-shooting by both Embiid and Maxey
It was a rip-roaring fourth quarter. The Chase Center crowd found its voice and the arena began to vibrate like the old days at the Oracle in Oakland. Embiid was mostly unstoppable, scoring 15 points in the fourth on five-for-eight field goals, and five-for-five on free throws. He ended the night with 19 points on free throws, reflecting the Warriors’ inability to stop him without sending him to the line. But Poole outdid Embiid, scoring 19 points in the fourth on six-for-nine shooting and five free throws of his own. He was devilishly clever, combining lightening quick drives to the basket with off-balance threes that somehow went through the net. Curry added another 8 points in the quarter and Thompson 7.
The Sixers’ offensive trio of Embiid, Maxey and Tobias Harris could not quite keep up with the scoring proficiency of the Warriors’ three guards. With two and a half minutes left, the score was tied 110-110. Then Curry drove behind the basket and elegantly made a difficult turn-around 6 footer off the board look easy, putting the Warriors up two. After Embiid missed two mid-range jumpers, Poole hit a clutch three from the corner with just over a minute to go. Curry then hit a lovely 10-foot floater, finishing off the Sixers’ chances for a win.
JaMychal Green played another very solid game for the Warriors, scoring 12 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in less than 14 minutes on the floor. After inconsistent and not particularly helpful performances for most of the year, in the last six games he has found his rhythm in the flow on both sides of the floor.Goldern State outrebounded the Sixers 49 to 38 with a team effort. Looney grabbed 10 boards, Curry 8, and Draymond Green and Thompson also had six each. One of Curry’s least-recognized talents is his outstanding rebounding. Despite the fact that he is only 6'3" and weighs under 200 pounds, he is averaging over 6 rebounds a game, because he is deceptively strong and willing to battle with bigs under the boards, and he’s often the quickest to balls that bounce off the rim 8 to 15 feet from the basket.
The Warriors had only 11 turnovers on the night, well below their season average of 16, only one more than Philadelphia, which helped offset the Sixers’ 28 free throw points. The Warriors also caught a break because James Harden, who leads the league in assists, did not play. According to Sixers’ coach Doc Rivers, the decision not to play Harden was a precautionary measure and Harden is likely to come back very soon.
Looking down the road, Philadelphia is one of three teams in the East, along with Milwaukee and Boston, that has a very realistic chance of reaching the championship finals. In addition to Embiid and Harden, the Sixers have six excellent complementary players in Harris, Maxey, P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Shake Milton and Georges Niang. They also play surprisingly good defense, ranking third in the league in points allowed, behind only Cleveland and Miami.
One problem for the Sixers is their lack of depth. Against the Warriors, only seven players played more than six minutes. When Harden returns, they’ll have eight good-to-great players, but an eight-man rotation is difficult to sustain during the intense grind of the playoffs. Another problem for the Sixers is that Embiid is going to have a much rougher time scoring against the Bucks’ big men Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo, if they end up playing Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Warriors are still a big question mark. They are only two and one-half games out of the 11th spot in the Western Conference, which would eliminate them from the playoffs. On the other hand, they are also only a game out of the fourth spot, which would give them home court advantage in the first round.
Last year, the Warriors finished the regular season strong and went on to win it all. Their core of Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, Looney and Poole are now all playing very well, and defensive wizard Gary Payton II is expected back on the floor on this homestand, according to Steve Kerr. Donte DiVincenzo, Jonathan Kuminga, and JaMychal Green are capable supporting pieces. If last year’s All-Star Andrew Wiggins returns to the Dubs before the playoffs start, it would be unwise to dismiss the Warriors’ chances to repeat. Although it’s unlikely, we might even see the Warriors and the Sixers playing again this year, only this time in the finals.