Game Thread CINCO-DOS: 76ers v. Wizards

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Will Keefe grow a pair and bench Poole? That is all.

[HotelVitale]

My Sixers are missing 4 starters in Embiid, Maxey, Melton, and Batum so should be close game. We’ll have to start Payne and Hield (who we just traded for) plus Tobias Harris, Oubre, and Paul Reed, and the bench will be…G league-y. Wouldn’t be surprised if Vegas liked you all in this one.

[tontoz]

Bagley cleared to play. Philly still favored even missing key guys.

[FAH1223]

Kelly Oubre masterclass incoming

[nate33]

Very winnable game with Embiid out. The Sixers are reeling.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

6 TOs for Deni and Bilal combined, yikes. I thought one they gave Deni was another on Bilal because he got outmuscled, but they need to work on these second half of the season.

[nir2610]

Kuzma makes sometimes stupid decisions almost like Poole.. talent is not enough to be a star . you need an average iq as well...

[nir2610]

Deni looks tired as f×ck . gg by Bilal btw.. love his aggression

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Need someone other than Tyus to get it going. Got 5 guys with 8-11 points.

On another note, Payne's three ball form is atrocious.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Some nice takes by Deni this quarter. Scored three times and assisted on another two.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

We should really run more Kuzma-Deni pick and rolls. I feel like every time we do good things happen. They both are big forwards that can pass and see over defenses.

[nate33]

Deni looks tired as f×ck . gg by Bilal btw.. love his aggression

It's about time they played him enough that he got tired. He has been the best player on the team for the past 20 games. They should play him as many minutes as he can possibly handle, and then add a few more.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Two nice post move in a row by Kuz, needs to be down there more.

[nate33]

This is a disappointing loss.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

The offensive rebound over Poole was the dagger.

[trast66]

Ricky Council 4 is the new Kelly Olynyk. Guy killed us tonight.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Ricky Council 4 is the new Kelly Olynyk. Guy killed us tonight.

The rebound over Poole and put back sealed the game. Poole is a magnate for bad stuff happening, you just know it's going to happen.

[nate33]

Ricky Council 4 is the new Kelly Olynyk. Guy killed us tonight.

The rebound over Poole and put back sealed the game. Poole is a magnate for bad stuff happening, you just know it's going to happen.

He finally had a not-awful night by scoring 11 points on just 9 shots. But even so, you can't have a guy play 30 minutes and score just 11 points if he is also a terrible defender and provides no help on the boards. For the love of God, can we please bench him and play more Kispert, Shamet and Butler?

[tontoz]

As many games as they have lost I have to give them credit for continuing to play hard. They might play bad, make dumb mistakes or whatever but I don't get the feeling that they are just going through the motions.

Good night for the tank. Charlotte won tonight.

[nate33]

As many games as they have lost I have to give them credit for continuing to play hard. They might play bad, make dumb mistakes or whatever but I don't get the feeling that they are just going through the motions.

Good night for the tank. Charlotte won tonight.

The defense has honestly been respectable for the last 16 games or so. According to NBA.com, and not counting tonight's game, the Wizards have a DRtg of 115.1 over the last 15 games, which ranks as the 11th best defense in the league.

I can live with that. I don't mind losing because we lack a star to bend the opposition's defense, but I can't handle losing because our defense is embarrassingly bad. That is no longer the case. The defense is halfway decent now.