Sixers grades: Joel Embiid imposes his will; Tobias Harris produces another solid effort
Joel Embiid didn’t waste time showing why he’s the reigning MVP and Tyrese Maxey was somewhat unstoppable, at least in the first half.
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The 76ers defeated the Denver Nuggets, 126-121, Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. Here are my grades from the game:
Centers: A
Joel Embiid didn’t waste time showing why he’s the reigning MVP. Nikola Jokić and everyone else had a tough time guarding him. Embiid had 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting — including 2 of 3 three-pointers — along with three rebounds and five assists in the first quarter to set the tempo. But he was messing around a little bit, defensively.
Paul Reed played DeAndre Jordan evenly, which is kind of what you want from him.
Forwards: B
Tobias Harris started the game embracing being a role player — two games after finishing with a career-high 37 points. On this night, he only had one shot attempt in the first quarter. However, Harris did a solid job on the defensive end. He had a block and broke up an alley-oop. And the power forward ended up with 24 points.
Nic Batum was great offensively. His highlight was a three-pointer that people will talk about for a while.
Marcus Morris got into early foul trouble. He had three first-half points while going 3-for-4 from the foul line. He hit a big three-pointer after intermission. The North Philly native played okay.
Furkan Korkmaz didn’t do much in his limited action.
Guards: B-
Tyrese Maxey was somewhat unstoppable in the first half. The Nuggets had a tough time stopping him from getting to his desired spot. Even though Jamal Murray made shots, Maxey did a solid job of providing resistance. Things cooled off after intermission when Maxey shot 2-for-8.
Kelly Oubre was okay. He had some solid hustle plays that led to layups. But his one-on-one defense against Michael Porter Jr. was a struggle.
Patrick Beverley played great, offensively, in the first half. He scored on a floater and made two threes in the first half. But he wasn’t as good defensively. But things changed after intermission. Beverley missed his three second-half shots and shut down Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter, holding him to 0-for-4 shooting and zero points.