CLEVELAND -- There will be nights like Friday for the Philadelphia 76ers. This is still a brand new group with a lot of elite scorers and guys who need the ball in their hands as they move forward in the season.
LeBron James had six turnovers in Friday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers as he and the Sixers had a tough time finding any type of rhythm. He shot only 3-for-12 on the night and it was an overall struggle for Philadelphia as it had a tough time really getting after it as the Cavs built a lead.
"Yeah, I definitely did not feel in a good rhythm offensively," James said after the loss. "We didn't look like much offensively. We had a couple spurts where we were able to cut it up to three in the third quarter, but too many turnovers on my
behalf, and I didn’t feel in a rhythm offensively."
One has to wonder what the cause of those turnovers were. The Sixers had a lot of issues with their spacing and it affected their offensive process as they shot only 36% from the floor and 10-for-40 from deep along with 15 turnovers as a group.
"A couple of them was careless," James admitted. "A couple of them was just trying to make the right play and not being successful with it."
Along with James' struggles, the Sixers saw Joel Embiid shoot 0-for-9 as he had a miserable night. The spacing and lack of cutting allowed the Cavs to really bother the big fella and it resulted in him having a night he'd rather forget. The half-court offense as a whole for Philadelphia looked a bit clunky.
"I said it last game and I say it every game we got a long way to go, especially our halfcourt offense," Embiid stated. "It just feels like everything is crowded. So we just got to find a way to get advantages that can take advantage of, so yeah, just try to get a few easy ones for each other. I think a lot of it just ends in an iso and we just standing and watch. But yeah, we also have those moments where the ball is just moving and tonight was just one of those nights."
As the Sixers move forward, they will undoubtedly be a much better halfcourt offensive team. This is still a big adjustment period for this group with so many ball dominant players, and the fact that they're still figuring things out while being 8-2 is a big development for Philadelphia. It's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. There is film work and reps to be done.
"I think it’s both," Embiid said of film and reps. "For me, especially, as I’m looking at the game, I’m like, how can I get easy ones? How can I get layups? How do I find myself, or how do I put myself in position to get the easy ones and the layups. So it makes the game easy for me. The way sometimes we set up and I have to space and the jumper’s available, and obviously, I have to take it because when I’m right, I’m a great shooter. There’s just those times where you’re going through it."
To Embiid's point, he has continued to preach that it's going to take work for the Sixers to get to where they want to go. They're, obviously, nowhere near the level they need to be at. The halfcourt offense is currently clunky and it will be fixed over time.
"Just got to keep working, after practice, after shootaround and just keep doing the work, and go in the game and try to make it happen," Embiid finished. "Whenever that picks up, it’s going to be a good time, but while it’s not there just keep trying to build and pushing and trying to get better."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: LeBron James, Sixers address turnovers as they look to move forward
