Sixers vs. Clippers takeaways: Defensive woes; boos for James Harden; criticizing Nick Nurse

The 76ers have major defensive concerns.

The Well Fargo Center fans kept up the tradition of booing a former Sixer who failed to deliver and left on bad terms. And it appears that some of Sixers fans are growing tired of Nick Nurse’s coaching.

Those three things stood out Sunday in the team’s 125-99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Sixers have been unable to stop dribble penetration in just about every game they have played this season. As a result, opposing teams have been able to do whatever they want. On Sunday, that led to the Clippers (11-7) getting easy rebounds and scoring at will.

The Sixers didn’t help themselves by missing shots, which led to easy transition baskets by the Clippers at the other end.

Former Sixers guard James Harden had to know he would get booed every time he touched the ball. That’s what the Wells Fargo Center crowd did when Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons and Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris returned to face their former team this season.

This was the second time Harden faced the Sixers since forcing a trade to his hometown team on Nov. 1, 2023. He finished with game highs of 23 points and eight assists in just 27 minutes, 6 seconds of action. With Harden scoring 12 first-quarter points, it was obvious that the boos had no bearing on his performance.

In the closing minutes of the game, a fan yelled, “Fire Nick Nurse!” He would yell it two more times before exiting the arena.

Nurse has been catching some heat from fans because of his coaching tactics and rotations. On this night, some questioned why he went to a zone defense early in the game when Harden kept finding the open spot. Others wondered why the 6-foot-8 Guerschon Yabusele got the start at center over 6-11 Andre Drummond against L.A. ‘s 7-footer Ivica Zubac.

I can see why fans are disappointed with the Sixers dropping to a league-worst record of 3-13. However, it is hard to judge Nurse’s coaching when the team’s Big Three of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George have played together for only 6 minutes, 9 seconds.