Sixers Play Same-Old Song & Dance in Loss to Jazz

By Doug Ammon, Sixers.com

In the two games heading into Friday’s contest, the Sixers surrendered 237 total points. Against the Jazz, head coach Brett Brown hoped his team would turn around their play on the defensive end. His team held Utah to 38.0% shooting and 89 points, but ultimately the Jazz were able to close the deal, coming away with their 25th victory of the season, 89-83.

“I think that their defense was very good, and I think that we missed a lot of shots that our shooters normally have a better percentage of making,” said Brown after the game. “We really struggled making some shots and struggled from the line, it was just one of those nights.”

It was a close contest throughout, and neither team pushed their lead to double digits until the fourth quarter. What decided the game in the end was the charity stripe. Utah got to the foul line 41 times to Philly’s 18 more, and their 29 made free throws were more than triple the nine with which the Sixers finished.

Utah has been competitive all season but sit nine games out of the eighth seed in a tough Western Conference and most likely will not make the playoffs. They have experienced an up-and-down season, and their last several contests are representative of this trend. They beat the second best team in the West, the Memphis Grizzlies, on Tuesday but then the next day fell to the struggling Boston Celtics, and then tonight rebounded with a win in Philadelphia.

Isaiah Caanan found his name atop the scoring list for the Sixers for the second straight night, backing up his 31-point performance in Oklahoma City with 16 against the Jazz.

Nerlens Noel continues to put up complete state lines, and on Friday he finished with 10 points (5/12 FG), 11 rebounds, and six steals, which tied his career-high. In doing so, he became just the fourth player since 1985-86 to hit those marks. It was Noel’s 10th double-double of the season, six more than any other rookie.

Robert Covington returned to action after missing two games with a right elbow contusion. The second-year swingman struggled from the floor, though, finishing with five points on 1-of-8 shooting.

The Jazz were headlined by their top scorer on the season, Gordon Hayward, who finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds. Utah saw another impressive performance from 7’2” center Rudy Gobert. The man with the longest wingspan in the NBA (7’9”) tallied nine points and 15 rebounds, one point shy of his 14th double-double of the season.

Inside the Numbers: 11 & 12

Recent addition Thomas Robinson has been making his presence felt on a consistent basis, and against the Jazz registered his first double-double as a Sixer, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Philly Connection: Brett Brown And Dante Exum

In addition to his coaching duties in the States, Sixers head coach Brett Brown has a connection to Australia, where he coached for over two decades and headed up the Australian Men’s National Team from 2009 to 2012. In his time with the Aussie Team, he was able to coach a then 15-year old Dante Exum, the youngest call up to the senior team in their history.

“I brought him in when he was 15 years old when I was coaching the National Team and his length was evident from the get-go,” he said. “The easiest thing for him right now is to focus on his defense. I think his offensive game is going to come, and his shot will be developed, but it doesn’t surprise me what he’s done so far.”