LeBron James, Joel Embiid struggle in Sixers' blowout loss to Cavs

If you don't fight, you can't win.”

— Eren Yeager

The Sixers suffered their first road loss of the season Friday night, falling to the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 119-95. Jaylen Brown paced a painfully inefficient Sixers offense with 20 points on poor shooting, while LeBron James scored just eight points and Joel Embiid played one of the worst games of his career.

Here's what I saw.

LeBron, Embiid struggles doom Sixers

LeBron and Embiid have been crucial to the Sixers' early success, but their lack of engagement and poor decision-making doomed Philadelphia's chances from the jump.

Embiid played perhaps his worst game since he went scoreless in 32 minutes against Marc Gasol and the Raptors on Nov. 25, 2019. He lacked any semblance of assertiveness despite the Cavs being without Jarrett Allen. Whether matched up against Mobley or able to exploit a mismatch, he consistently settled for fadeaways and attempts to draw fouls.

Embiid received the ball in the low post against Harden early on, only to immediately turn away from the basket for a fadeaway. He followed that possession with an attempt to draw a foul near the free-throw line against Mobley, resulting in a turnover.

It's fair to wonder what role, if any, Embiid's lingering plantar fasciitis played in his performance. He checked out with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter and never returned, finishing with 25 minutes played. That's the same amount of time he logged Monday against the Bulls while on a minutes restriction. However, Nick Nurse confirmed after Friday's game that Embiid was not on a minutes restriction.

While Embiid played with little engagement, LeBron showed a shocking lack of feel for the game, making poor decisions both as a passer and in his shot selection. Three-point shooting has been a struggle for James this season, but watching his shot selection early in this game, you'd think he was taking heat checks.

A series of turnovers and poor shots, compounded by consistently poor transition defense, allowed Cleveland to build a 19-4 lead in the first quarter. Despite Philadelphia finding its shot toward the end of the period, the Sixers trailed 33-22 after one.

As they have often this season, the Sixers stepped up after falling into an early hole, cutting the deficit to single digits on a scoring run led by VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown. Two minutes into the third quarter, Philadelphia had pulled within three points, but that was where things began to fall apart again. The Sixers were outscored 55-34 over the remaining 22 minutes.

MORE: Sixers' hot start is masking a potential offensive problem

A matter of time

The Sixers have been playing with fire all season, and they finally got burned.

Despite their early success, Philadelphia has struggled to establish a consistent offensive identity. Far too often, the Sixers rely on "my-turn, your-turn" iso play, hoping to be bailed out by their sheer talent. The result is a stagnant attack that limits the team's potential.

If Embiid can't get to his spot or the initial action stalls, there's often little movement or secondary action to generate another look or force the defense into an adjustment. That lack of creativity has been particularly noticeable early in games.

Philadelphia entered Friday as the fifth-worst first-quarter scoring team in the NBA, averaging just 25.9 points per game. Its 22-point opening quarter against Cleveland will only bring that average down further.

If the Sixers can't consistently put opposing defenses on their heels early, they cannot continue relying on their ability to flip a switch, especially against better teams, as Jaylen Brown discussed after Monday's win over the Chicago Bulls.

This game is one of 82, but that doesn't mean the Sixers should dismiss everything that went wrong. There are aspects of Friday's loss to "flush away," as Tyrese Maxey loves to say, but Philadelphia's ongoing offensive issues are larger than one game, as is Embiid's occasional lack of engagement.

Final thoughts

• While his teammates largely struggled, VJ Edgecombe quietly put together another strong performance, scoring 19 points and recording four steals while helping drive the team's comeback attempt.
• Three-point shooting continues to elude the Sixers. The starting lineup generally lacks the movement and spacing to create clean looks, and even when those opportunities arise, Philadelphia struggles to knock down open shots. This isn't the most naturally gifted shooting team, but its lack of offensive rhythm certainly contributes to those struggles.
• Without Adem Bona (cervical spine sprain), the Sixers turned to Jabari Walker as their backup center, and the pros and cons were on full display. Offensively, Walker is a threat in transition, which suits the team's style of play, but his presence only deepens its spacing issues. Defensively, he's a capable switch defender but lacks the size and skill set to consistently protect the rim.

Up next for the Sixers

In the final stop on their road trip through the Central Division, the Sixers (8-2) will travel to Chicago for a matchup against the Bulls. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.

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