The worst defensive game of the season caused a setback

The Philadelphia 76ers (15-27) finished the trip with a showdown against the Denver Nuggets (27-16). With Paul George and Gershon Yabusele back in action, the Sixers turned in an embarrassing performance, losing their seventh straight game. Final score: 144-109.

Joel Embiid missed the chance to play in Denver for the fifth season in a row. He only gets one chance a year to play against Nikola Jokic in Denver, so any thought of the injury-prone superstar center “walking away” from this matchup didn’t make sense at the time and seems even more ridiculous in retrospect. In a league that has more ridiculous discourses you can throw a basketball into, this is among the most absurd.

Speaking of absurd, this 76ers performance was terrible. They did enough offensively to make the game somewhat competitive at times, but they didn’t play the way they wanted to play, let alone win.

Progress to a healthier composition

Đorđe returned to the starting line-up while Jabusele came off the bench. That went a long way in helping the 76ers get their top two threats and playmakers, taking the burden off Maxey after some particularly tough offenses to lead without them (plus no Embiid or Jared McCain).

Early on, the 76ers started Andre Drummond against Jokic, running the pick-and-roll on the Nuggets superstar over and over again. He played a higher level of screens on George than Maxi, which may have been a calculated decision to prevent the faster Maxi from flying past him and to prevent George from passing and shooting mid-range looks, areas where he is more adept .

George was pushed into the defense a few times and didn’t assert himself enough to make the 76ers more competitive. He shot the ball very well, although he still didn’t get into the paint often, and most of his assists came on three-pointers or rim shots.

Yabusele hit the ground running in his return from his first absences of the season. He also hit a lot of shots, giving the Sixers much-needed punch off the bench. Defenses continue to underestimate his ability to dribble, which has resulted big shot on the baseline after a hard closing. He finished the night with 22 points on 8-13 shooting.

The 76ers are still missing a lot of players due to injury, but the return of George and Yabusele will restore a sense of normalcy – or, at least, what normal means in this monstrosity of a season.

An inexcusable lack of urgency

The Sixers got a few good looks from those PnR sets, but still fell behind early due to some brutal fast break decisions offensively and fast break efforts defensively. Once again, they just didn’t get back on defense fast enough. Through nearly seven minutes of play, Denver had almost as many fast break points (13) as Philly had total points (14).

It’s insulting to this team’s desire to compete for a championship that things as simple as passing to teammates with a numbers advantage and rebounding and equalizing on defense fall by the wayside. There is no excuse for this game being the final of the trip as they still had a day off and will have two more until the next game. There’s simply no excuse for the Sixers not to play as hard and as smart as they can; it should never be optional, especially with the hole in the table they are in.

Making matters worse is the fact that the Nuggets are perfectly built to decimate teams that don’t buckle in transition. They have a genius playmaker who looks over defenses to lead fast breaks for a set of strong, athletic athletes and solid scorers. Christian Brown had enough runway to get to the rim. Russell Westbrook singled out the Sixers with ease, as did Jokic.

Of course, Denver is a great offensive team and without Embiid’s deterrence, good defensive play would be much more difficult for Philly. But allowing 100 points with just under 18 minutes left in the game is awful. That can’t happen. When simply putting in the right amount of effort is too much, it puts into perspective how brutal this season is and how long it feels. Another 40 games from this team, even with Embiid back, could be brutally entertaining to watch.

However, the Nuggets are also built to be beaten the same way other teams beat them. The Sixers collectively failed to do so, although one of them was able to create at will.

Makey on money

No one exposed Denver’s weak defense like Maxey, though it didn’t matter.

McKay quickly broke through the defense and led a second quarter drive that put the 76ers within five minutes. After a strong performance against the Milwaukee Buckshe carried that same rhythm on the plane from Cream City to the lands a mile high, a nothing double-double with 28 points and 10 assists on 11-21 shooting.

Even if only for a couple of games, Maxi’s recent play is encouraging. He seemed to balance the need to play within his means while also excelling enough to become the straw that stirs the 76ers’ drink. The question of his ineffective three-point shooting still lingers, but he countered that with incredible shooting in the paint.

It’s hard to even point to Maxi’s performance as a silver lining in the depressing state of this team. Any big move will lead to losses anyway. That could help Philly in the long run if he can keep his first-round pick, but it’s no guarantee. And the owner of that election will not be determined for several months.

The 76ers now have a few days off before starting another back-to-back this weekend. The first game is a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. That should be fun.