NBA Playoffs: 5 takeaways from Game 1 between Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers

Well, the Washington Wizards will not be sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers. After losing all three regular-season games against Philadelphia, Washington kept the losing streak alive in game one of this seven-game series. Thanks to some sloppy fourth-quarter play by the Wizards and 37 points from Tobia Harris (?!), the 76ers took game one,125-118.

The Wizards proved in the opening game of the series that they aren’t a “typical” eighth seed. Most of those don’t have two All-NBA talents in the backcourt. And the underdog Wizards were within four points of the East’s top seed in the final quarter. However, they’re still down 0-1. There are no moral victories in the playoffs. Besides, this series is far from over.

With game one behind us, here are five takeaways from the Washington Wizards’ game one loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Game 1 Takeaway #5: No more wasted possessions

During the regular season, the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers averaged the same number of turnovers per game: 14.4. In game one, though, their turnover totals did not match. The Wizards were above average and coughed it up 15 times. The 76ers tightened up and committed fewer turnovers than usual, 11.

Not only did the 76ers do a better job of holding onto the ball, they also did a better job of turning turnovers into points. The 76ers turned 15 Wizards turnovers into 15 points (1.0 points per turnover), while the Wizards turned 11 turnovers by Philadelphia into nine points (0.82 points per turnover).

Russell Westbrook — who led the NBA in turnovers per game this season (4.8) — and Bradley Beal combined for 12 of the Wizards’ 15 turnovers, more than the entire 76ers team committed in game one. Five of those 11 turnovers came in the final quarter. The Wizards wouldn’t be in the playoffs were it not for the play of Westbrook and Beal all season, but they won’t win any games in the playoffs if the two keep being so careless with the ball.

Game 1 Takeaway #4: More three-point attempts

The Washington Wizards, one of the least effective three-point shooting teams during the regular season, made eight of their 20 attempts from beyond the arc in game one. All in all, that’s a pretty respectable 40 percent and a better shooting night, percentage-wise, than the 76ers had. Philadelphia shot just 31.2 percent from behind the arc. However, the 76ers attempted far more threes, 32 in total. So they actually scored more points from long range than the Wizards did (30-24) despite shooting less efficiently. In terms of points per shot, the Wizards barely had an edge when it was all said and done. The Wizards averaged 1.2 points per three-point attempt, and although they shot a lesser percentage, the 76ers averaged 0.95 points per three-point attempt.

The Wizards don’t have nearly the caliber of shooters that the 76ers have. During the regular season, the 76ers ranked in the top ten in three-point percentage and had seven players shooting over 35 percent from three and averaging at least 2.5 three-point attempts per game. With the Wizards, it’s Bertans, Beal, and then…Neto? Rui Hahcimura did make his two three-point attempts in game one, but he passed up more three-point looks than he took. Garrison Matthews may be able to even the three-point scales, but he didn’t get any minutes in game one, and neither did Anthony Gill. As Scot Brooks cut the rotations down for the playoffs, he may have cut out the Wizards’ ability to threaten teams from three.

Game 1 Takeaway #3: Joel Embiid is best on the bench

Before the series started, Alex Saenz broke down what the Wizards needed to do to stop Joel Embiid and ultimately pull off the upset over the 76ers. In game one, the Wizards were mildly successful. Embiid was held in relative check during the first half as he racked up three first-half fouls and just nine points. As a result, Embiid played less than half of the first-half minutes (10:25), then nearly doubled it in the second half (19:21).

While the Wizards had decent success against Embiid in the first half, he was a problem for the Wizards in the second half. The Wizards were outscored by eight in the second half after taking a one-point lead into halftime. During that time, Embiid exploded for 21 points, finishing with 30 points and six rebounds.

After getting into some foul trouble in the first half, Embiid tightened things up in the second half and was only called for one personal foul in the final 24 minutes. If Embiid continues to play that disciplined, it will be an issue for the Wizards. When Embiid was on the bench, the Wizards outscored the 76ers by 13 points. While he was on the floor, the 76ers outscored the Wizards by 20 points.

The Wizards obviously fare better when the 76ers’ best player is on the bench. Now, they must figure out a way to keep him there for much longer because when he was on the court, they did not seem to have an answer for the MVP finalist.

Game 1 Takeaway #2: Bradley Beal can EAT vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

It may seem obvious that Bradley Beal would be able to get his buckets against the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA’s second-leading scorer got buckets against everyone during the regular season, 76ers not excluded. He averaged 36.7 points while shooting 55.7 percent from the field and 55.0 percent from three in three losses to Philadelphia this season.

But everything gets ratcheted up in the playoffs, especially on the defensive end, especially against opposing stars. Plus, the 76ers have several good-to-great perimeter defenders they can throw at Beal, including Danny Green, Matisse Thybulle, and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ben Simmons. They had the number one defensive rating in the East this season for a reason.

In game one, Beal was unbothered. He looked fine through the first half, but in the third quarter, Beal really exploded, scoring 17 of his team-high 33 points. Beal added 10 rebounds and six assists before the final buzzer, becoming the third player in franchise history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game. It was also the first double-double of Beal’s playoff career.

Beal has a history of solid playoff performances, but it’s been a while since he’s been in the playoffs, and things are much different now than they were in 2018. He’s a much better player and the number one option on offense. That definitely earned him extra defensive attention in his return to playoff basketball, but it didn’t seem to slow him down.

Beal can get his, but he needs to avoid resorting to hero ball down the stretch. He’s tough to stop in isolation, but we saw a lot of hero ball in the fourth quarter during game one, and it didn’t get the job done.

Game 1 Takeaway #1: Find a way to the foul line

The Washington Wizards led the NBA in personal fouls per game during the regular season, so it’s no surprise that the 76ers attempted more free throws in game one than they averaged during the regular season. But the Wizards led the entire NBA in free throw attempt per game (26.2), so it was surprising to see them get outshot in that department.

In game one, the 76ers attempted twice as many free throws as the Wizards, 15 attempts for the Wizards compared to 33 for the 76ers. Embiid alone had nearly as many free throw attempts as the entire Wizards team (13). That’s not a huge shock considering he led the NBA in free throw attempts per game this season (10.7). But the Wizards have a free throw magnet of their own in Beal, who averaged 6.7 free throw attempts per game, not that many fewer than Embiid. Beal hit his regular-season total in game one, attempting (and making) six free throws in the loss. Alex Len had seven, and Westbrook added two more attempts, but that was it. Only three Wizards players even attempted free throws.

The Wizards had fewer opportunities but were better at the foul line. The Wizards made 80 percent of their free throws in game one, while the 76ers made just 69.7 percent of theirs. However, their overwhelming advantage in total free throws attempted allowed them to shoot a lesser percentage and still handily outscore the Wizards in that department, 23-12.

Moving forward, the Wizards may be able to fix two of their game one problems if they can force Philadelphia into more fouls. One, they’ll likely get more free throw attempts if they get more whistles. Two, if the Wizards start looking for more contact around the rim, it could get Embiid in foul trouble. More free throws mean more points, and more fouls on Embiid means more time for him on the bench, which also means more points. Win-win.