Maxey struggles, Sixers beat up by Bucks in opener without Embiid, George

Missing Joel Embiid and Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers struggled mightily in the opener and were beaten convincingly by the Bucks.

Well, at least 81-1 is still in play.

The Sixers, most of them anyway, have finally made it to the regular season, and they kicked it off with a 124-109 loss against Doc Rivers’s Milwaukee Bucks.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers in scoring, but wasn’t able to with any type of efficiency. He finished with 25 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 10-of-31 from the field and 2-of-9 from three-point range. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting.

Obviously Joel Embiid and Paul George were out for the Sixers, while Khris Middleton was unable to suit up for the Bucks due to ankle injuries.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Without Embiid in the lineup, guarding Antetokounmpo became very much a team effort, if it wasn’t already. KJ Martin drew that assignment first, and he held up just fine. Martin’s contributions on offense were actually more notable early, as he was just able to make some baskets happen as a result of him diving to the rim.
• Nick Nurse’s rotations were very similar to the end of the preseason, as to be expected. Guerschon Yabusele played a couple minutes at the four before sliding down when Andre Drummond went to the bench. Yabusele hit a few shots and grabbed an offensive rebound over Antetokounmpo, but also got steamrolled by Giannis for an and-1. It was a solid first quarter back in the NBA for him, all things considered.
• Something that became evident pretty early on was that the Bucks didn’t have anyone capable of staying in front of Maxey, though he didn’t have much to show for it. He shot 3-of-11 in the quarter, having a few shots rim out. In fairness, this was a theme for everyone as the Sixers started the game 4-of-15 and the Bucks missed six of their first seven shots to start the game. While he had a couple tough misses in the quarter, Maxey hit this layup as time expired to give the Sixers a one-point lead after one.

Second Quarter

• The Sixers had to cobble together about four minutes with Maxey on the bench to start the quarter, and that meant a lot of Kelly Oubre Jr. self creation. Oubre did a good job of getting to the basket, but the Sixers’ bigger problem during the stretch was getting stops, as the Bucks scored nearly every time down the floor.
• Maxey continued to cook when he checked back into the game, but the Sixers’ play, especially on the defensive end, remained sloppy. They had a couple miscommunications switching, and also got beat by cuts thanks to being over aggressive. It was just a lot mistakes that gave Milwaukee high percentage looks, whereas the Sixers were working pretty hard for the shots they were getting.

• Ironically, what allowed the Sixers to keep this game slightly close was the 11 offensive rebounds they grabbed in the half. They couldn’t buy a shot from anywhere, shooting 35% from the field and 19% from three. They took just six free throws compared to the Bucks’ 12, but that’s to be expected given who was unavailable. The Sixers trailed by 11 after Yabusele banked in a midrange buzzer beater.

Third Quarter

• Nurse made some immediate tweaks in the half as Caleb Martin was out there to start the second half in place of KJ. It had a positive effect on the offense, as they scored on their first four trips. They weren’t able to make a dent in the lead though as they continued to struggle to get stops.

• There were plenty of areas the Sixers’ defense could have been better in, at the same time, the Bucks were just on fire from the second quarter on. On top of the wide open threes they gave up, Lillard was also hitting several contested 27-footers, as he is wont to do. Lillard finished with 15 points in the third quarter.
• The Sixers showed some slight signs of life midway through the quarter as Kyle Lowry checked back in and Ricky Council IV entered the game for the first time. The best they were able to do was cut it to 12 when Lowry found a cutting Yabusele for an and-1. That momentum was quickly snuffed out after Maxey got blocked by Brook Lopez and Lillard drew Yabusele’s third foul. They just weren’t able to consistently stop the Bucks to sustain a run, and trailed by 19 after the third.

Fourth Quarter

• The bad news to start the final quarter is that Yabusele and Drummond both picked up their fifth fouls in quick succession, making their center situation very dicey. The good news is that Giannis cashed the bricken-for-chicken promo twice, upgrading everyone in the building from five nuggets to eight.
• The Sixers did have another burst of life in them, and it was because they finally made some plays on the defensive end. Caleb Martin was able to close out and block a Pat Connaughton corner three. Yabusele picked Antetokounmpo’s pocket two possessions in a row to create fast breaks. Still, the closest they were able to cut it to was 13 points.

• Philly unofficially waved the white flag with just under four minutes to go as Council returned Jared McCain checked into the game for the first time. He made his first NBA jumper, a midrange pull-up from the free throw line. He missed his only three of the night but finished with four points after grabbing a put-back layup.
• The Sixers hit the road when they are back in action this weekend. Their next game is Friday night in Toronto against the Raptors at 7 p.m. ET.