Player Observations After Joel Embiid, Sixers Take Bulls Down in Chicago
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The Philadelphia 76ers opened up the week with a bang as they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies at home without their star center Joel Embiid on the court.
Two nights later, they hosted the Washington Wizards to conclude their five-game home-stand. As they engaged in a tight matchup with the Wizards, the Sixers failed to come out on top and collected their first loss in six games.
After wrapping up their home-stand, the Sixers hit the road to face the Dallas Mavericks for the first time this season. After struggling against zone defense in Dallas, the Sixers came up short and picked up their second-straight loss.
The Sixers looked to close their week out with a road matchup against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Sunday afternoon. Before the matchup, the Sixers found out they were going to be without their young defensive standout Matisse Thybulle as he was dealing with shoulder soreness.
Thybulle was replaced by the veteran forward Danny Green in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls missed numerous key players, including the star forward Zach LaVine, who was ruled out with back spasms a couple of hours before tip-off.
Chicago's notable absences were visible on Sunday as the Sixers outscored the Bulls 34-26 through the first quarter. While Chicago played a slightly better second quarter, the Sixers managed to stay in the lead as they outscored the Bulls by one point and entered halftime with a 61-52 lead.
Coming out in the second half, the Bulls played much better. As their star duo of DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic put Chicago on their back, they managed to finally outscore the Sixers. However, Philly kept up and maintained an eight-point lead going into the final quarter of action.
When the game reached crunch time, the Sixers showed signs of potentially stalling out. But Philadelphia stayed aggressive and shot nearly 70-percent from the field in the final quarter of the outing. After outscoring the Bulls in three of four quarters, the Sixers put Chicago away with a 119-108 victory.
76ers vs. Bulls Player Observations
Danny Green
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With Matisse Thybulle out due to shoulder soreness, Danny Green picked up the start on Sunday. All season long, Green has struggled to make a consistent impact on the offensive end, but he played a solid role in the win in Chicago. In a little under 30 minutes of action, Green took just five shots. However, he was efficient as he knocked three two of his three shots from beyond the arc. Green finished the game with eight points.
Tobias Harris
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Harris has been playing some solid basketball lately, and he was a great complement to Embiid’s game on Sunday. Appearing on the court for nearly 40 minutes, Harris went 10-15 from the field. He contributed to 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Eleven of Harris' points came in the fourth quarter, which is a great contribution from Harris considering he's had some quiet fourth quarters in tight games this season.
Joel Embiid
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Another game, another MVP performance put on by Joel Embiid. In his first 15 minutes, Embiid put up 22 points, shooting 8-11 from the field. In the second half, he was just as good as he went 6-12 from the field and collected another 18 points in 16 minutes. While Embiid didn’t score the game-high, he finished with 40 points and helped the Sixers break their two-game losing streak and snag another win over Chicago.
Seth Curry
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This season, Curry has been pretty efficient fro the field. Sunday wasn’t one of his sharpest performances, though. In 38 minutes, Curry drained just five of his 15 shots. From beyond the arc, he went 2-5. Curry managed to put up 12 points, but it’s clear he’s still slightly rusty after dealing with ankle soreness and back spasms.
Tyrese Maxey
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The young guard had a quieter performance than usual, but he was still very impressive. He made all but three of his nine shots and went 3-4 from three. Maxey put up 16 points in 37 minutes. On offense, the second-year guard continues to make incredibly tough shots and looks extremely confident shooting from three.
Georges Niang
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Doc Rivers tends to keep Niang’s minutes closer to the 20-minute mark, but the veteran forward neared 30 minutes on Sunday. He didn’t produce a ton off the bench, but his nine points were helpful. The Sixers can use all of the three-point shooting they can get, and Niang’s 50-percent from beyond the arc was definitely helpful.
Andre Drummond
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Sometimes Drummond has monster games. Other times, he’s quiet. Mark Sunday’s game as the latter. After wrapping up a 16-minute shift, Drummond finished the night with just two points. To no surprise, he showed some value in the rebounding game as he snagged eight boards.
Furkan Korkmaz
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After missing the last few games with knee soreness, Korkmaz returned to the Sixers’ lineup. He had a quietly solid performance as he drained three of his eight shots and went 2-2 from the line for nine points. Korkmaz has struggled to create an impact for the Sixers a lot lately, but he did a job well done in Chicago.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.