PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers got down by as many as 35 in Friday’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans which essentially did them in on a tough night overall.
However, Philadelphia’s effort in the second half was fantastic. The Sixers worked their way back into the game and were within six points with roughly 1:30 left. It was an impressive effort after halftime when considering how poor the first half was.
The key now for Kelly Oubre Jr. and the Sixers is to bottle the second-half effort and take it with them on their 3-game road trip beginning on Sunday against the New York Knicks.
“Honestly man, we just have to come out for 48 minutes, starting at minute zero, as soon as the ball tips,” said Oubre. “Coach emphasized a couple of things today in the pregame meeting and it was just do five or six things we talk about in the game plan and do them really well and stop trying to hit home runs, stop trying to do everything at once because once we start overthinking, especially with the group that we have out there now, which is never good. It’s over helping, or over something, right?”
Philadelphia’s margin for error is very slim. The Pelicans entered the contest playing well and were healthy. The Sixers entered missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Nic Batum, and Robert Covington. That could be a starting lineup for any team in the league.
However, coach Nick Nurse and the Sixers just didn’t give up. That type of fight and effort now has to carry over to the next contest in order to get back on track.
“I mean obviously, we just aren’t reeling anything back,” Nurse said of the challenges. “It just seems like the list keeps getting longer every night and that’s not easy for anybody’s mentality or psyche, but I’m not giving no excuses. There are some good players out there that need to play a heck of a lot better than they did.”
Philadelphia could have Maxey return on Sunday against the Knicks, but even with his return, the Sixers will still be missing Embiid. The Sixers have got to figure out ways to get back in the win column. It has to start from the opening tip.
“It’s just about locking in,” Oubre finished. “Being game-ready from the tip and just executing for 48 minutes. Those things that coach puts his time in to tell us, it’s like a cheat sheet. We have to actually do those things, execute them at a high level, everybody.”