The last play of Monday night’s game against the Miami Heat displayed a common theme for the Philadelphia 76ers that has plagued them for not just this season, but the past few.
James Harden was forced to take a tough three out of the timeout, after Joel Embiid got double-teamed in the final seconds.
When it gets into crunch time, the team fails to execute on taking care of the ball, finding good shots and defending the way they do the first three quarters.
Whether it’s a coaching problem or it stems from the players themselves, it needs to be fixed. Here’s a look at some of the issues, and how they can be addressed going forward.
Lack of effective drawn up plays
When the 76ers come out of timeouts, there is a huge lack in effective plays. When you watch teams like the Celtics, Warriors or Bucks, there is almost always a play drawn up for a guy that works out well.
That isn’t to say it’s entirely Doc Rivers’ fault. There is also a huge problem with execution of those plays. But no matter what it is, somehow the ball always ends up in Embiid or Harden’s hands late in the shot clock, forcing them to take bad shots.
Those two stars are capable of finding good looks. To keep the offense in rhythym late in games and put points on the board, Rivers has to be better with his players in timeouts to get them good shots.
At the same time, Harden and Embiid can’t dribble out the entire shot clock late in games. That may work for the first few quarters of games, but the fourth quarter calls for a more team-oriented game as defenses collapse onto the stars.
Either way, if Rivers doesn’t improve on late-game coaching, he may be out of town by next season.
Ability to handle/pass out of double teams late in the game
It’s not a surprise to see Embiid double-teamed anymore. For years, teams like the Raptors and Heat have played great defense on him by trapping him with at least two guys and forcing him to make a tough pass.
He has gotten a lot better at managing double teams through the past few seasons. But for Embiid and the rest of the team, the turnovers and double teams are still an issue late in games.
This may relate back to the issue of playing more team-oriented basketball in the fourth quarter and spreading the ball around to guys not named Harden or Embiid.
Defenses obviously know those two are going to have the ball, and they will see a lot of double teams in close games to make other players beat them.
The 76ers need to work on distributing the rock more in the 4th quarter, especially because their two best players will often see double teams.
No consistency in late-game execution
If one thing is true about the Sixers’ play in the late fourth quarter, it’s that there is no consistency whatsoever.
The best part of the offense is the Harden and Embiid pick-and-roll. But for some reason, they get away from it in crunch time, playing more isolation.
It should be the coaching staff’s number one priority to run that pick and roll in the 4th quarter; it’s impossible to guard. Going under on Embiid leaves Harden open for three, and going over on the screen leaves Embiid alone rolling to the rim. And if you bring help, there’s shooters open.
It’s just a matter of consistency. The offense should be no different at the end of games than it is the rest of them; there’s no need to overthink it.
Featured photo courtesy of Harry How/Getty Images
You can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Daniel!
“From Our Haus to Yours“
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- Platoblockchain. Web3 Metaverse Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- Source: https://thegamehaus.com/nba/late-4th-quarter-woes-are-continually-hurting-the-76ers/2023/03/02/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=late-4th-quarter-woes-are-continually-hurting-the-76ers
