A Frustrating Philadelphia Sports Weekend - Sunday Night Round-Up

Photo Credit: NFL

It was a frustrating Philadelphia sports weekend (sans Flyers).

For those who decided to double dip Sunday afternoon, your reward was double disappointment. The 1:00 window saw a Sixers 127-117 loss to the Heat - a loss that was perhaps scheduled. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid (of course), Kelly Oubre, and Adem Bona, as well as VJ Edgecombe, who sat out as a precautionary measure due to calf tightness he experienced towards the end of Thursday's overtime win over the Bucks.

A few hours after the start of the Sixers game, you were likely delighted to see the Eagles offense look like a well-oiled machine for the first time this season. Getting AJ Brown involved early on, the Birds jumped out to an impressive 21-0 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter. A few hours after that, Eagles fans watched Brandon Aubrey's game-winning field goal go through the uprights at AT&T Stadium, catapulting the Cowboys to a 24-21 victory. The Eagles second-half offense looked more like the Sixers late game attack than it did the Hurts-led group we saw over the first 30 minutes.

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The Sixers

Let's start with the lighter topic before we dig into the hard stuff. The Sixers lost to the Heat by ten points in a Sunday matinee where Tyrese Maxey led the team in scoring with 27 and Trendon Watford provided a game off the bench reminiscent of his historic night against Toronto a few weekends ago.

Unsurprisingly, Maxey led the way offensively with 27 points on 10-23 shooting. It was a bottom five game for him as far as shot making goes (he also went 5-14 from three). The Heat controlled the game throughout, leading at the end of each quarter. With around 8 minutes left, the Sixers pulled within two points, only for Miami to score 13 of the next 15 of the game's points.

But the positive? Trendon Watford flirted with a triple double, posting his second highest point total of the season (19), to go along with 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Watford is at his best offensively when he's playmaking, allowing him to score easier. His four highest scoring games this season are also the only four games in which he's recorded five or more assists.

More positive? No problem; 32-year-old Andre Drummond pulled down 23 rebounds. That is not a typo. I'll say it again; 32-year-old Andre Drummond pulled down TWENTY-THREE REBOUNDS. The most rebounds our buddy Joel Embiid has ever recorded in a game is just a measly 22, so feather in the cap moment for The Big Penguin. Since Embiid began his extended absence with no end in sight, Drummond is averaging 12.0 points and 13.9 rebounds in seven games. The Sixers are 3-4 in those games, but it's no fault of Drummond's. He's been terrific.

Welp, the positive ends now because we get into the Paul George thing. Not so good. George played his third game of the season and after an inspiring 21 point game against Milwaukee, this one was perhaps the worst of the three. PG got himself into foul trouble early on, which then led to just 20 minutes played (his lowest thus far) and shooting 3-10 from the field, missing all five three pointers he attempted. George unfortunately clogs up a spot in the starting five, simply because he's Paul George.

You have to wonder what will happen when Kelly Oubre returns and who will the odd man out between George, Edgecombe, and the plug-and-play power forward spot Nick Nurse has been juggling. To me, Watford deserves to be in the starting lineup, but Nurse is seemingly obsessed with giving Justin Edwards the nod. Maybe he's just trying to feed the hot hand after Edwards' big game against the Celtics, but the hand has clearly gone cold. Edwards provided just 7 points and was a team worst -21.

Photo Credit: PhillyVoice

The Eagles

Great, I have to talk about these guys. The guys who jumped out to a 21-0 lead over the Dallas Cowboys, only to surrender 24 points without scoring another single point of their own. It was an embarrassing loss on all fronts and a true team effort - everyone was terrible!

I feel like the Eagles are giving into the media - the liars, haters, and losers - by forcing Jalen Hurts to throw the ball way more than he's comfortable with (or needs to). His top three games this season in terms of pass attempts are all three of their losses. Three of his four best games in terms of passing yardage have resulted in losses. They're getting away from their identity - this is a run first team. Saquon's not running it like he was last year, I get it. But he had ten carries today. Meanwhile, Hurts threw the ball an uncharacteristic 39 times.

AJ Brown's incessant complaining has worked perfectly - if you only care about personal stats and not team wins. After receiving just three targets against the Packers, Brown has been targeted 11 times and 8 times the past two games. Hurts peppered him on the first drive of the game today, which was clearly the plan.

For as much as I'm complaining about Hurts throwing the ball - and specifically about throwing the ball to AJ Brown - it's something they obviously need to do. Anybody with eyes can see the offense isn't operating the way it should be. But in the first half of Sunday's game, it seemed like they figured things out. Kevin Patullo does this very strange thing where he uses all of his fun, smart, and successful play calls in the first half, only to completely abandon that approach in the second. I just don't get it. It shouldn't be this hard. You have AJ Brown and Devonta Smith to go along with the reigning Offensive Player of the Year at running back and the Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. Where's the disconnect?