The Sixers need to figure out their defense. That just got more complicated | David Murphy

Joel Embiid clung to the net and stared down toward the opposite end of the court. As the verdict boomed through the Wells Fargo Center loudspeakers, the Sixers’ big man unlaced his fingers from the nylon and offered a flippant wave toward Eric Bledsoe, who was quickly ushered off the court and into the tunnel.

For the second time in a couple of weeks, the Sixers’ best defense might have been the offense that an opponent took to Embiid’s unique antagonistic ability. On March 22, it was Celtics guard Marcus Smart’s ejection that turned the tide in their favor. On Thursday night, Bledsoe earned an even quicker exit, after he was assessed with two technicals for his role in a minor brouhaha that erupted a couple of minutes into the game (Bledsoe initiated the hostilities with a forearm to Embiid’s back after a basket, then returned fire after he caught the basketball that Embiid tossed at him).

The ejection prompted a rousing ovation from the sellout crowd and gave the Sixers a significant advantage. But even on a night when they shot 50 percent from three-point range and got 34 points out of Embiid, Bledsoe’s ejection could not prevent the Bucks from scoring 46 points in the fourth quarter, it could not avert a 128-122 loss, and it certainly could not overshadow the dire straits this team finds itself in with two games remaining in the regular season.

So, where do they go from here? It’s a question for which there are no easy answers. Brett Brown admitted as much in the wake of a loss that saw a trio of seldom-used rookies combine for 56 minutes of court time.

“It has been the area that we’ve admitted candidly that I’m most afraid of,” Brown said. “When you lose a wing especially, it’s a sting.”

Needless to say, the Sixers are going to struggle if they enter the postseason needing Embiid to bait an opponent into a Flagarant Two or a couple of technicals every night. Which means Brown is going to need to figure something out in a hurry, particularly after Thursday’s pregame news that James Ennis will miss at least a couple of weeks with a quad contusion. Suddenly, a team that was already perilously thin on the bench and had already been struggling to guard the perimeter at a championship level, will enter the postseason without one of their best wing defenders.

Against the Bucks, Brown’s substitution pattern was a testament to the challenge he faces. Instead of going with Jonathon Simmons, whom the team acquired from the Magic in the trade that sent Markelle Fultz to Orlando, Brown leaned heavily on a couple of rookies whom he has routinely insisted are unlikely to play a part in the playoff rotation. Zhaire Smith, the club’s first pick in last June’s draft, played 18 minutes after entering the night having logged a total of 15 in two games on the season. Shake Milton, who isn’t even eligible for the postseason roster at the moment, also played 18 minutes, while fellow rookie Jonah Bolden logged 20.

Brown’s first lineup change left Embiid and Tobias Harris with Bolden, Milton, and T.J. McConnell. In the second half, there was a stretch where the Sixers were holding a four-point lead with a lineup of Milton, Smith, Bolden, Mike Scott, and Ben Simmons.

Given the circumstances, things could have gone worse for the Sixers, particularly when you factor in the absence of Jimmy Butler, who missed the game with a back injury that has hampered him of late. At the same time, they allowed 128 points on a night the Bucks were playing without a guard who should create a matchup nightmare come the postseason.

It remains to be seen what, exactly, Brown will do to fill the void that Ennis leaves. There were several moments during Thursday’s game when Smith looked every bit a player appearing in his third career NBA game. In his first shift, the former Texas Tech star tried to throw down a baseline dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it did not end well. In the second half, he missed a wide-open, fast-break layup (he did drill a three with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter to cut the Bucks lead to 25-21).

Brown sounded an optimistic note about Smith’s performance, citing the moxie the rookie showed attacking the rim and chalking up the miscues to the simple fact that he has not played much basketball this season.

“Can you continue to give him minutes and see what do we have in him?" Brown said. “Because you are not looking for somebody to come in and play a huge amount of minutes. But can he do that?”

He might not have a choice. At this point, the Sixers are reliant on Embiid to an extent that is difficult to ignore. There was a play late in the first quarter where Sterling Brown beat Harris so bad with his first step that the Bucks guard was rising up for the layup by the time Harris could even initiate his momentum. Embiid ended up blocking the shot, but it was hardly the sort of sequence that gives you confidence in the Sixers’ ability to consistently keep opposing ball handlers in front of them.

Perhaps ejections really are the answer.