Sixers fall just short against Timberwolves, lose 11th in a row

A strong effort from the under-manned Sixers, who came up just short against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 11 losses in a row.

Here's what I saw.

Likes

- It's amazing how many opportunities can arise from just being patient with the ball in your hands. Guerschon Yabusele played release valve when Minnesota sent two to the ball, making himself available to receive the pass in the middle of the floor. The pass to Yabusele broke the pressure and activated the second side of the court. But none of that matters if Yabusele panics and loses control. Instead, he calmly caught the ball and faked passes to the weak side, sending helpers shading the middle of the floor back to their assignments. The pass fakes parted the seas in front of Yabusele, setting him up for a ferocious dunk.

- Not a robust night in Marcus Bagley's box score, but his hustle was noticeable. He crashed to the basket on a couple of his teammates' misses, retrieving the ball off the rim and putting it back in one motion. He also jumped with the trees and slapped a rebound away from the Wolves, breaking up a stop and giving the Sixers another play. Nick Nurse talked about why the Sixers chose him for another 10-day contract during his pregame availability, citing Bagley's energy and effort as significant reasons why they went back to him.

That isn't the first time Nurse has outwardly suggested that he places a premium on intangibles such as motor and effort. He mentioned that he takes note of those things - and playing within the flow of the game - when evaluating college prospects. Perhaps it's a window into his scouting philosophy, perhaps it's nothing. But if you're big and energetic with some foundational skills, Nurse might like you.

- The Sixers had themselves a handful of difficult finishes at the rim, converting the hoop and getting the compliment of the whistle on a number of drives. Good night for the highlight reel.

Dislikes

- It was an exceptionally busy first half for head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson, and not because there was an abundance of new Sixers injuries. Johnson doubles as the team's shot clock voice from the bench, frantically walking from his seat to the scorer's table to shout out the time left on the clock for the players to hear. The Sixers had him practically pacing the sidelines, a high number of possessions coming down to the last 10 seconds on the clock.

To be fair, Minnesota was frenetic in its defensive aggression, pressuring the rock with a primary defender and shading with a secondary to stall out Philadelphia's attempts at scoring. The Sixers committed a couple of shot clock violations because they couldn't generate rotations out of their ball movement, the Wolves having little issue staying connected and in place despite Philadelphia's best efforts to create rim pressure. Beyond that, the ball would stop on swing passes to the player in Rudy Gobert's vicinity. The recipient, which varied from time to time, would eat time trying to size Gobert up. Jared Butler, for example, used the opportunity to draw Gobert out to the perimeter when he had very little chance of doing anything with the rangy big in his face. If you have Gobert in space, that's actually your opportunity to look inside. If the rim protector is away from the hoop, you should be flashing to the cup. Of course, Minnesota has Naz Reid to rotate on the back side. So it's not exactly a simple task. But the Sixers do not have the talent to be working against the shot clock. Early, quick attacks, fellas.

Spare thoughts

- Anthony Edwards is a perfect example of why scouting college players can have you second-guessing yourself over things that you can't truly know until the guy plays. Coming out of the University of Georgia, common knocks against Edwards were his level of care for the defensive end of the floor and general motor for sustaining high-impact play. Fortunately, nothing stopped Edwards from going no. 1 overall in the 2020 draft. But there were debates about whether it should be him or LaMelo Ball. Ball has achieved a very high-level outcome, to be clear. But Edwards is a different animal.

Not only has he become one of the more menacing perimeter defenders in the league, using all his gifts to maximize his capacity on that end of the floor. But his motor has propelled his rise to superstardom on both ends of the floor. He's one of the most prolific, explosive scorers in the game. Edwards hasn't just lived off his athletic pop, either. He's worked to become an excellent shooter, too. Many of the concerns about his game have proven to be irrelevant. What a fun player to watch.

- The best thing about the Jalen Hood-Schifino experience has been that the in-arena DJ plays I'm So Hood by DJ Khaled whenever he makes a shot. Taking me back to middle school.

- Special thank you to the NBA for not putting the Sixers on the schedule for Sunday night. I cannot be late to the White Lotus season finale.

The Sixers (23-55) will visit the Miami Heat (35-42) on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.