3 observations after Sixers’ early season misery deepens in loss to Clippers

3 observations after Sixers’ early season misery deepens in loss to Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ early season woes deepened Wednesday night.

They suffered a 110-98 loss to the Clippers at the Intuit Dome, falling to 1-6 through seven games, and Tyrese Maxey was ruled out early in the fourth quarter with right hamstring soreness.

The Sixers, Bucks and Jazz are now tied for the NBA’s worst record.

Norman Powell had 26 points on 8-for-10 shooting and six assists. James Harden added 18 points and six assists.

In his first game against the Clippers since deciding to leave Los Angeles this summer to join the Sixers, Paul George had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting and seven rebounds.

Joel Embiid served his first game three-game suspension for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. Since the start of last season, the Sixers have gone 17-33 without Embiid.

The Sixers will complete their three-game West Coast trip Friday night against the Lakers. Here are observations from the team’s defeat on Wednesday:

Regrettable offense

George sank his first two shots of the night, both from long range. He earned the first by grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed Caleb Martin free throw and nailed the second as the shot clock wound down.

George also hit his only two jump shots in the second quarter. Unsurprisingly, he had a far more efficient outing than his 4-for-14 Sixers debut Monday in a loss to the Suns.

In his second game back from a bruised left knee, George again missed stints. As soon as he sat down, Maxey called out the aggression. The Sixers would love to have Harden turn on Maxey, a player he once showed many tricks of the trade. Maxey nailed a step-back jumper over Harden and darted to the rim for an and-one layup.

While the talents of Maxey and George shone in the first half, the Sixers’ offense was far from exemplary. They had heaps of sloppy, out-of-sync turnovers — 10 in the first 15 minutes — and their half-court possessions often became stagnant and isolation-heavy. The Clippers had an 18-4 halftime advantage in points off turnovers.

The Sixers’ 52.5 assist percentage this season is the lowest in the NBA. They were under 50 percent Wednesday with 19 assists on 40 field goals made.

Other than George being back on the field and Embiid’s expected season debut on the horizon (Nov. 12 vs. Knicks)there is almost nothing positive about the state of the Sixers’ offense.

Not much second-unit scoring pop this time around

Harden and the Clippers asked Andre Drummond to defend plenty of pick-and-rolls in drop coverage. Martin did well individually on Harden, who started 2 for 11 from the field. Martin generally picked the right spots to be physical and the right spots to be satisfied with a solid defense.

After subpar games in his last few outings, Drummond (nine points, 10 rebounds) was better in Los Angeles. After a 15-minute night on Monday, Drummond logged 32 minutes against the Clippers. The night included his first regular season three since the 2019-20 season.

Off the bench, the Sixers didn’t receive nearly the same scoring push they had against the Suns.

Veteran guards Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon had one point on 0-for-5 shooting in 37 total minutes. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse played Guerschon Yabusele just 10 minutes into the game after his stellar 19-point performance in Phoenix. Although KJ Martin had a bright stint in the first half that featured two quick dunks, it was strange to see Yabusele used exclusively at center and get that much playing time.

Nightmare second half

The Clippers were decisively superior to open the third quarter. Nurse called timeout less than three minutes into the third after a Terance Mann layup in transition.

Maxey was held scoreless in the third quarter and the Sixers shot 0 for 8 from three-point range in the period. With his early exit, Maxey played 10 minutes less than his NBA-leading average of 41 a game.

Nurse told reporters in Los Angeles that the decision to take Maxey out was out of caution.

The Clippers’ lead grew in the third quarter as Harden found his groove. And when the Sixers beat Harden on LA’s final possession of the third, the Clippers got the ball to Kris Dunn in the corner and he drove in for a dunk. The Sixers started the third quarter tied and finished with 16 points.

Jared McCain played the entire fourth quarter and every available Sixer saw the floor Wednesday night. They are still looking for another win and have two more games to go without their big superstar.