Sixers-Pistons: Paul George looks good, but rebounding woes continue — and where’s the bench?
Here’s what we observed in the Sixers’ loss to Detroit and what it means as they head down the stretch.
The Sixers fell, 116-93, to the Detroit Pistons in the second game of a back-to-back, falling to seventh in the Eastern Conference, and back into NBA Play-In game territory.
On the other hand, the win secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the Pistons for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
Here’s a quick look at the conference standings before we get into our observations from Saturday night’s loss:
Eastern Conference Standings
And now, here’s a breakdown of what we observed in the Sixers’ loss to the Pistons ...
Paul George starts well again
Paul George finished with 20 points, but opened the game shooting 3-for-3, scoring nine points in the first four minutes. George hadn’t played in both games of a back-to-back yet this year, but said after Friday’s win that he was feeling good and hoped to play.
» READ MORE: Pistons topple Sixers in Philly and secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference
Since returning from his 25-game suspension, George said he’s felt much better physically, after a knee injury ended his season early in 2024-25 and offseason knee surgery kept him sidelined to begin the year.
“I feel pretty good, so that was a positive from tonight,” George said.
Sixers’ depth falls flat
Outside of George, both Tyrese Maxey, who finished with a game-high 23 points, and VJ Edgecombe (19 points) delivered offensively. But with Joel Embiid sidelined for injury management, the Sixers’ depth struggled to score against a tough Pistons defense.
Adem Bona secured three offensive rebounds and scored 10 points, but Quentin Grimes ended the third quarter with no points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had just three through the first three quarters.
“I just didn’t think either [Oubre Jr.] or [Grimes] could find an opening to get much going,” Nurse said.
The Sixers managed just two points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Even Maxey, Edgecombe, and George started to miss shots and turn the ball over, and without them performing, the game quickly slipped away in the second half.
“We got stripped a lot,” Nurse said. “We picked up our dribble a lot, and didn’t cut to get free enough. They turned it over 10 times in the second half, so that’s a lot.”
The Sixers continue to struggle on the boards
Joel Embiid grabbed 13 rebounds against Minnesota on Friday, and with their starting center out of the lineup, the Sixers turned to Bona and Andre Drummond on the boards. The Pistons’ size and physicality, especially from Ausar Thompson, who grabbed five offensive rebounds, and Jalen Duren, created a tough matchup.
“I thought we played pretty good defense for the most part,” George said. “We just couldn’t come up with rebounds on a lot of them, and they were able to get second opportunities.”
The Sixers were out-rebounded 56-41, including 16-10 on offensive rebounds, and the Pistons scored 21 second-chance points. Bona said the biggest challenge in a potential playoff matchup with the Pistons would be boxing out and keeping them off the glass as much as possible.
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