Sixers’ offense stalls out in collapse at hands of Bulls

The Sixers' last made shot of the night came with six minutes and 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

It was a finger roll for Tyrese Maxey, who scored a game-high 39 points on his 25th birthday. The Sixers held a nine-point lead.

They scored 75 points in the first half. Philadelphia scored 36 points in the second half.

They led by as many as 24 points in the game. Nikola Vucevic ripped the Sixers' hearts out of their chests on a corner triple with three seconds left in the game.

It was the only time the Bulls led all night. It was all that mattered.

The Sixers' problem right now is probably a good one to have. They have a formula that works on the offensive end. It had the Bulls on the ground practically begging for mercy by halftime.

The problem isn't that they're seeking a level of play that appears unattainable. It's that they demonstrate an ability to play to their full potential, and then they let go of the rope in the second half.

That's a problem that you would expect out of a team led by rookie Ben Simmons and second-year Joel Embiid.

This version of the Sixers, though turned over several times since then, is far too experienced to pee a 24-point lead down their legs.

Maxey is too old to drain the shot clock and settle for a stepback long two. He's too experienced to fly down the court and recklessly launch the basketball off the backboard in a wild attempt at a transition layup.

Embiid has been on the short end of too many heartbreakers to regress to out-of-rhythm jumpers and over-dribbling that leads to live-ball turnovers in the guts of the game.

Nick Nurse has won too many high-stakes basketball games to watch as the fourth-quarter offense melts to the hardwoods.

The best teams will lose 20-25 games. No one loss is unacceptable. Especially in November. But Tuesday's setback, on the first leg of a back-to-back with the Cavaliers waiting to greet the Sixers in Cleveland on Wednesday, should be one that Philadelphia thinks about for a few hours. It should be one they remember the next time they play the Bulls.

Embiid will be the poster for people who care more about their narratives than they do about basketball. 

He earned his share of the blame for the disaster. The big fella had no problem being a passenger in the offense for the first three quarters. His approach changed entirely when Nurse brought him back in the fourth quarter. He governed possessions as if this was another classic 40-point masterpiece from his prime. That's not who he is right now. It might not be a level he can attain ever again.

It was fine to command the entire offense back then. Partly because he was that good, and partly because that was the way the Sixers played.

For him to suddenly decide that it was his time, it changed the way the offense had flowed the entire night at the most critical time of the game.

It would've been a different story had Embiid actually put on his cape and salvaged the game.

But he turned the ball over on a swipe-down as he rose for a jumper. He lost his dribble on a post-up, giving the Bulls a stop and a chance to run. His jumpers clanked short. It was the exact script that most bad Embiid crunch times follow.

But the game had long devolved before Embiid checked in for closing time.

When the Sixers took it to the Bulls in the first half, their defensive rotations were crisp. The Bulls couldn't raise the tempo of their halfcourt offense. They could barely get into transition because the Sixers were firing on all cylinders on offense.

Philadelphia assisted 14 times on 27 baskets. They committed just seven turnovers before the break.

In the second half?

Eight assists against nine turnovers. Just 13 buckets.

There was far less sharing in the second half. The Sixers carried themselves as if there were only two competent players on the floor - Maxey and Embiid. Everyone else was a passenger. When all is said and done, this team will be too talented for a heliocentric offense or one predicated on a two-man game.

It is incumbent on Nurse to identify the direction in which the offense is trending and to break the funk. It is incumbent on Maxey, as the lead guard and heir apparent to Embiid, to diagnose problems in real time and fix them.

Neither carried out those responsibilities.

Jared McCain made his season debut on Tuesday and was allotted just 15 minutes. Quentin Grimes played 29 shaky minutes. VJ Edgecombe had the first truly inefficient night of his NBA career.

Paul George should be returning soon.

When the full compliment is available, the Sixers will be too dynamic on offense to excuse sustained lulls on that end of the floor.

Even with limitations on the quartet of guards in this game, the offense left something to be desired when three of the four were on the court. Those guys should be setting screens for each other to force switches. They should be popping or cutting hard. They should be making defenses sweat.

The Sixers have no problem setting guard-guard ball screens on one side of the floor. There's enough shooting and intelligence in this group to execute actions on both sides of the floor. There should be very little standing around.

Yet, it felt like the Sixers never quite squeezed the offense for everything it has to offer. They rode torrid shooting to a double-digit lead in the first half and then hoped they'd created enough separation to hang on.

This franchise may be existing on two timelines. A rare, elusive operation for any organization to carry out successfully. But there is still scar tissue from the past that threatens interest locally.

If the Sixers want buy-in from the Philadelphia faithful, this game has to be a blip on the radar. It has to be a reminder that they cannot keep living on the edge with these down-to-the-wire affairs. They have to play a full game of basketball.

Let it marinate for a couple of hours, and then onto Cleveland.