Embiid dominates Hornets for 53 points to lead the Sixers to victory: Likes and dislikes

The Sixers (13-12) hosted the Charlotte Hornets (7-19) on Sunday. Philadelphia wanted to build on its win over the Lakers on Friday. Charlotte wanted to snap a four-game losing streak. Joel Embiid dominated for his second 50-plus-point game of the season, leading the Sixers in a 131-113 win. 

Before we get to the action, allow me to set the scene.

Contextual Notes

The Hornets were without the services of LaMelo Ball, who has a sprained left ankle. Gordon Hayward was out with a fractured Scapula in his left shoulder.

Cody Martin missed the game due to a procedure on his left knee. Dennis Smith Jr. has a sprained left ankle and was out. 

Mark Williams sprained his left ankle and was unavailable.

Steve Clifford started Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., PJ Washington, Jalen McDaniels, and Mason Plumlee.

The Sixers were without the services of Tyrese Maxey, who is inching closer to a return from a small fracture in his left foot. 

Danuel House Jr. missed the game with a laceration on his left foot.

Saben Lee and Julian Champagnie are on Two-Way G-League assignments with the Delaware Blue Coats and were unavailable.

Doc Rivers started James Harden, De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid.

Likes

Not much fell for the Sixers early in this one, shooting 3-for-12 before Rivers called a timeout around the 6-minute mark of the first quarter, but the process was at least a bit encouraging. Philadelphia made an effort to get its feet in the paint, whether by way of Harden crossover and burst into the gap or shot-fake off a swing pass and attack the closeout. That’s ultimately what you want off crisp ball movement, and you’ll bet on the outcomes eventually trending in your favor over a large sample size. 

Once the Sixers woke up, they applied pressure on Charlotte’s neck with some zone defense to finish the first quarter and start the second quarter. The extra pressure on Charlotte’s ball-handlers, whether it be Rozier or someone else, banked on the Hornets making bad decisions with the ball. Smart bet, the Sixers poking the ball away or intercepting ill-advised passes to get out on the run, themselves. The eye test says the Sixers have used zone quite well to stop bleeding when their man coverages have failed them in recent games. And it worked much the same to silence the Hornets when they were feeling themselves early in the game.

Say what you will about Embiid’s…