Sixers Bell Ringer: Offense, where art thou?

Sixers regular season Bell Ringer standings:

James Harden - 4
Tyrese Maxey- 3
Joel Embiid - 2
Tobias Harris - 1
Georges Niang - 1

On a night the Atlanta Hawks didn’t actually shoot the ball or take care of the rock exceptionally well themselves, the Philadelphia 76ers outdid their opponent for offensive ineptitude. The Sixers shot just 38.6 percent from the field, and I assure you, this was not a case of good offense generating good looks that just weren’t falling. The Sixers were all out of sorts, eventually falling behind by 20 points in the fourth quarter. The second unit provided a late surge that made the final score look more respectable, but the 104-95 loss was not one that contained many silver linings. On to Bell Ringer...

Joel Embiid: 26 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7 turnovers

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Stop me if you’ve heard something like this before: Joel Embiid was a plus-10 on a night the Sixers lost by nine points. With the Sixers unleashing their patented clogged toilet offense, Joel was the team’s only consistent source of offense, finishing 9-of-18 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line. Embiid had the mid-range game working, hitting a handful of jumpers from around the elbows. But he wasn’t content to settle either, utilizing his size and strength advantage on the interior to bully his way into buckets in the painted area, or force a second defender to come over and hack him to prevent an easy two. The seven turnovers were certainly a concern, as more than a couple were careless plays that could have been easily avoided. Still, he was strong on the defensive end for the most part, and the team literally looked like they had never seen an offensive playbook any time he wasn’t on the court, so we’ll cut him some slack for the giveaways.

Montrezl Harrell: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 turnovers

Harrell was the catalyst for the second unit bringing the game to back within two possessions from a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Getting just three minutes of court time, the veteran made all three of his shots from the field, went 2-of-3 from the free throw line, and earned a steal as part of an aggressive trap along the sideline. His usual brand of “crank the dial to 11” energy was extremely effective against a Hawks team that was maybe ready to coast to their victory after the Sixers sat the starters. The only bad news from this night from Harrell is that we might not see Paul Reed for a couple weeks as a result.

Danuel House Jr.: 8 points, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers

It has been a shaky start to his Sixers tenure for House, but Thursday night was more in line with the 3-and-D guy fans expected when he was signed this offseason. House canned a corner triple, and finished a couple of shots at the rim, including an and-one in transition. His 3-of-3 night from the field was supplemented by a couple of splash plays defensively, and strong positioning overall on that end of the court. House Jr.’s outing was particularly noteworthy after he had missed the last two games due to illness. Hopefully, there are many more like it to come.