Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #69 | Sixers @ Cavs | March 16, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

MirORich said:

Markannen had Embiid in a good spot defensively on that critical play where Garland chose to unnecessarily double team him with about 4 seconds left on the clock, leading to the wide open momentum regaining Maxey three.

But fair enough. I can see that. Didn't lead to all the Sixers 3's in the second half though. They actually only made 4 three the entire second half and we've already established that one of those was due to a Garland mistake, unnecessary and not likely what he was asked to do scheme wise.

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We have seen many times now that if we prioritize guarding the 3 point line and playing man, then we are in every game against any team. That's what our defense needs to be.

Right now Mobley is overnatched in the post. There's nothing to be done about that. He's not doing anything wrong he's just too skinny.


So giving that, to my eye, Garland and Markennen are just killing our 3 point defense. In ways that wasn't happening earlier in the year.

stickboltman said:

Going back to that Maxey three possession... Mobley (with Lauri)forced Embiid to pass it out from the middle paint area. Joel passed it to Tobias on the left wing who passed it to Maxey in the corner. Mobley made a super human effort to get all the way onto Maxey in the corner which forced him to pass out of the shot. There was a cross movement between Maxey and Tobias and Mobley stayed with Tobias in the paint. Maxey? Should've been Garland's man. DG shades to Joel and leaves Maxey for a wide open wing three

Goodness!

How in the hell did Mobley get over there?
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Would've been a big stop...

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I wonder if that's just a mental lapse on DG's part? or a Flawed scheme? I feel like sometimes we help too much leaving guys open behind the arc.

benchplayer said:

I wonder if that's just a mental lapse on DG's part? or a Flawed scheme? I feel like sometimes we help too much leaving guys open behind the arc.

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Our scheme is dog shit but Garland was going for a steal. He timed up Embiids dribble which was getting low to the floor and wanted to make a play. It was a really bad and painful gamble to watch in slow motion. I was screaming NOOOOOOO DG DONT DOOOO IT. You could see him eyeing it up. His mind was flashing a reel of a heroic steal down the court for a fast break bucket and the lead. Instead we went down 4. It was such a brutal moment especially since we had just watched Mobley lose Niang in the corner a minute earlier. Those two lapses by our young stars cost us the game. Learning experiences though. Learning experiences.

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Lauri got swatted away like a fly on the most important possession of the game and Embiid got a layup. Great on Embiid my ass.

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Wow. I mean who did you want on him? I'd prefer JA sure, but Lauri made him work. Lauri failed on the offensive end tonight.

Embiid is the strongest dude. He's literally a giant lol

Jscc said:

Now onto Denver. That should be fucking fun.

We really needed at least 1 win from Minnesota, Chicago, and Philly.

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I want to beat Minne and Chicago at least.

Jscc said:

We have seen many times now that if we prioritize guarding the 3 point line and playing man, then we are in every game against any team. That's what our defense needs to be.

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Exactly!!!! JBB’s zone defenses SUCK!!!

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Mobley easily with the game on the line. He wasn’t getting post ups like he was early. Markannen got bailed out by Embiid settling for jumpers for awhile. Then they put him in motion, Markannen took the wrong angle on an off ball screen and it was over before Embiid even received the ball.

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Yeah, one blown defensive play against Joel Effing Embiid, crucify him!

Cavatt said:

Wow. I mean who did you want on him? I'd prefer JA sure, but Lauri made him work. Lauri failed on the offensive end tonight.

Embiid is the strongest dude. He's literally a giant lol

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Mobley with the game on the line. It wasn’t a post up. It was Lauri getting screened and taking the wrong way and going late at the same time and the just getting swatted. The one time Embiid didn’t settle early in the clock and he made it clear he could score 2 on Lauri at any moment.

Rich said:

Right now Mobley is overnatched in the post. There's nothing to be done about that. He's not doing anything wrong he's just too skinny.


So giving that, to my eye, Garland and Markennen are just killing our 3 point defense. In ways that wasn't happening earlier in the year.

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I remember earlier in the year Markkanen was on the line, forcing his man to drive. I think the lack of Jarrett may be causing him to protect against that.

buzzdog said:

Yeah, one blown defensive play against Joel Effing Embiid, crucify him!

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It was only the most important defensive play of the game to that point….no big deal…in fact…. just wing it in those situations I say!

Trying to get my mind focused on next season a bit more and it would be tragic if we aren't prioritizing keeping Goodwin on the cheap.

If you can keep that due at 3-4 million a year, do it. He's better than JBB realizes.

JCF Durant...

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Mobley with the game on the line. It wasn’t a post up. It was Lauri getting screened and taking the wrong way and going late at the same time and the just getting swatted. The one time Embiid didn’t settle early in the clock and he made it clear he could score 2 on Lauri at any moment.

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Mobley got his ass handed to him the whole first half. He's just too weak. Expecting a 20 year old to deal with Embiid is trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

Lauri made a mistake. Wasn't the only one. This is a loss from a young team missing wide open shots and making mental mistakes in crucial moments.

MirORich said:

A slump is not regression. A month or two ago? He just had some unbelievable games in the past 2-4 weeks and when considering the injuries and the lack of shooters on the team, there are times were he HAS to take over like that.

But today, his shot was off as it has been during his 4-5 game slump and he did not read the situation right. We had a good flow going. He should have waited until that flow from everyone else shut off or disappeared before being more dribble/ISO heavy

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Darius is playing tight. He's feeling the pressure. He thinks he needs to do it all by himself. The problem (I think) is completely between his ears. He's still young and green as grass, and he is still on a steep learning curve at this stage of his career.

He needs to learn to trust his teammates more. He needs to give the ball up early in possessions, knowing for a fact that he'll get it back unless it goes through the hoop along the way.

Maybe he needs to be put on a damn dribble restriction, no more than 5-6 seconds before moving the ball. He's a little full of himself, and hopefully there's someone in his ear telling him what he needs to hear.

He will grow from this. IDK if it will happen in time to save this season, but one way or another he'll grow and get better. This is a time for coaches to do their jobs properly and have him mentally prepared for how he needs to adjust.

I just hope to God that JBB isn't telling him bullshit about "just go out there and be yourself". The coaches job at this point is to tell him WHO he needs to be, and how he needs to lead this group into playing more like a team and less like spectators.