Sixers aim to clean up on glass in Game 2 vs. Knicks

NEW YORK — When Philadelphia 76ers ahead Nicolas Batum was requested Sunday what stood out about rewatching his staff’s Recreation 1 loss to the New York Knicks, his reply was instant and quick.

“Rebound,” Batum stated.

Whereas there have been many causes the 76ers might level to for falling quick in a recreation that they had probabilities to win on the highway, it was New York’s offensive rebounding that stood out.

The Knicks completed Recreation 1 with a staggering 23 offensive rebounds — together with seven by Mitchell Robinson alone — that led to a 26-8 benefit in second-chance factors, one thing that got here up repeatedly throughout Philly’s off-day media availability forward of Recreation 2 again at Madison Sq. Backyard on Monday evening.

“In a playoff recreation, that is approach an excessive amount of,” Batum stated, referring to the offensive rebounds and second-chance factors. “Win the sport. We nonetheless had an opportunity to win the sport. That is the worst half it, we nonetheless had an opportunity.

“We have to manage the rebounds, and we knew it. They’re perhaps the very best, no, the very best, at that in the entire league. They performed nice, they play aggressive they usually go chase each ball, they usually did that final evening, so we misplaced on that.”

That Philadelphia struggled in that space in Recreation 1 wasn’t a shock, because it was a possible pivot level coming into the sequence. The Knicks have been the league’s finest offensive rebounding staff this season, with each Robinson (tied for first) and Isaiah Hartenstein (seventh) rating within the high 10 individually within the league. Philadelphia, partially as a result of Embiid missed half the season, ranked twenty fifth in defensive rebounding share.

Embiid, in the meantime, has not been as aggressive as he usually is on the boards since returning earlier this month from a two-month layoff after a process on the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Put that collectively, and Philadelphia now’s spending the 48 hours between Video games 1 and a couple of inspecting how that hole might be narrowed because it makes an attempt to tie the sequence at a recreation apiece.

“Plenty of issues bought confirmed from what all of us noticed dwell,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse stated with a smile, when requested what rewatching the tape from Recreation 1 confirmed him. “Pay attention, we did a pair issues actually, very well, so far as schematically and what we have been attempting to do. We did not do one factor very effectively.

“We allow them to play to certainly one of their strengths, like, completely to the max.”

The query now shifts to what the 76ers do to fight it? Nurse hinted at the potential for Paul Reed and Embiid taking part in collectively some in Recreation 2. He additionally spoke to some normal adjustments that Philadelphia might make use of to raised maintain New York off the glass.

“You are speaking about higher blocking out,” Nurse stated. “Extra bodily blocking out, getting extra folks concerned. Attempt to outnumber the man after which in some unspecified time in the future you gotta leap. You gotta have the ability to match their athleticism and leap. The ball goes up between all of us proper now, whoever jumps the very best would possibly get it, you understand what I imply? So in some unspecified time in the future we gotta try this as effectively.”

Nurse additionally downplayed any points with Embiid’s knee shifting ahead after he briefly left Recreation 1.

“Fairly good,” Nurse stated when requested how Embiid was feeling Sunday. “I feel. I imply, I requested him how he is feeling and he stated, ‘Fairly good.'”