Still, without Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Sixers are quietly outplaying the Pistons

Joel Embiid is missing for the Sixers, but that didn’t matter against the Pistons, the worst team in the East.

James Harden actually nearly had a triple-double at halftime, and Doc Rivers’ army quickly took control of the game behind an aggressive defense that caused a lot of turnovers and good turnovers by young Michigan players. to find the unmarked player.

Several times, the Pistons nevertheless came close, but each time Tyrese Maxey and his family succeeded in small spurts that allowed them to quietly slide to victory (123-111).

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– Philadelphia’s defensive pressure. Montrezl Harrell is no Joel Embiid as a defensive libero, but the first line of defense has done a great job of crowding opposing rims and being very dynamic and active. Result: 22 bullet losses for Killian Hayes and teammates…

– The Sixers are stepping up as needed. Three little nudges were enough to give Philadelphia a quiet evening. In the maneuver, James Harden first used Montrezl Harrell to create the first gap. “The Beard” was still in charge in the second quarter, with more Tyrese Maxey being the hero of the final burst. Anyway, that was enough for the Sixers.

TOPS/FLOPS

James Harden. One game for the Sixers’ point guard, who nearly had a triple-double at halftime and made the Pistons’ defense do what they wanted. 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists without forcing.

✅ Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrell. Without Joel Embiid, both interiors brought their own dynamism and opportunism. They collected 38 points and 18 rebounds.

✅⛔ Killian Hayes. His 26 points and 6 assists on 11/17 is a bit of a trompe l’oeil, as the Frenchman mostly did his stats late in the game against the Sixers on the coast. Before that, he was first on the service of his teammates, but the opposing mobile defense hindered him, and his passes were often well anticipated by Philadelphia.

Jaden Ivey. Newbies keep blowing hot and cold. Heat is this energy and this ability to constantly strike. The cool thing is that most of the time he only thinks about it and it becomes very predictable. 10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists on 4/13 shooting, but 4 turnovers and a game-worst +/- (-14).

NEXT

Philadelphia (24-15) and Detroit (11-32): the two teams will meet again on Tuesday, this time in Pennsylvania.