Even without Victor Wembanyama, Spurs show they are in higher class than Sixers

When San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama left the game for good near the end of the first half, the hopes of Sixers fans throughout the Delaware Valley, looking for an upset, rose to new levels.

The remote for many, shuffling between the NCAA Men's basketball title game and the Phillies playing in San Francisco, got a rest for a little bit and settled in on the fully healthy Sixers. Wembanyama, who is a serious contender for league MVP this season, and Joel Embiid, who once posted 70 points on him, were in a fun battle for the first 24 minutes of the game. But Wembanyama's night was cut short due to a left rib contusion, and that's where the difference between the two organizations was seen clearer than any foul ever committed on Embiid.

San Antonio found itself on Monday in a place where the Sixers have been much of the season, with their best player missing time while nursing an injury. And that is where the difference was as noticeable as the 7-foot-6 Wembanyama walking the streets.

Without Embiid, the Sixers search. They search to get scoring from others not named Tyrese Maxey. They search to find the right player to set the high screens for Maxey to try and free him for jumpers and drives. They search for an identity on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

The Spurs simply don't have to do that. They just continue on, playing smart at both ends of the floor, running an offensive system where open shots are found in a variety of ways, no matter if the opposition is playing man-to-man or zone, which the Sixers tried to do on Monday. They know their defensive assignments and how to attack the head of the snake, which for the Sixers is Maxey. In two games this season, San Antonio's Stephon Castle, with some help from others, took Maxey out of his game like no one else has, and held him scoreless for the first half. Nothing came easy for the Sixers guard due to Castle, who also was able to post a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. Maxey finished the night with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

As much as the battle between the bigs was fun to watch in that first half, you just had the feeling that San Antonio wasn't going to let this one get away even with Wembanyama (17 points, five rebounds, three blocks in 15 minutes) in the locker room. It's just who they are. It's what they're about. It's how they have won 60 of their 79 games this season. They are an organization, a system and a culture that knows how to win. That wasn't lost over the last six seasons of losing basketball. It was a legitimate rebuilding time to get the proper players, pieces and head coach Mitch Johnson into place to get the factory rolling again. They are there.

The team disparities showed in a couple of areas, specifically bench scoring, where the Spurs out performed the Sixers by 50-18 and also had a 57-54 rebounding advantage, despite playing without Wembanyama in the second half. Another telltale sign was San Antonio delivering 31 assists on their 44 made field goals to just 17 on 34 for the Sixers.

Embiid did his part, posting 34 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. He went to the foul line 19 times, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Spurs, who won for the 12th time in their last 13 games. The loss dropped the Sixers (43-36) back into the seventh spot in the East, a half game behind the Toronto Raptors (43-35). Toronto hosts the Miami Heat tonight. 

Monday, Sixers coach Nick Nurse tinkered with his rotation yet again, this time starting Kelly Oubre Jr. instead of Dominick Barlow. His two main subs were Barlow (16 minutes, eight rebounds) and Quentin Grimes (five points in 23 minutes). Paul George, VJ Edgecombe, Embiid and Maxey all played more than 38 minutes, and Andre Drummond was the backup to Embiid. Adem Bona did not get off the bench.

It is a tricky time for the Sixers' coach, as he tries to find the right combinations against different matchups, but also needs to find his own rotation in the meantime. Is Oubre a starter? Is there enough spark off the bench if he is? Are four starters ready to play 40 minutes a night come the postseason? Who is the backup center?

Not an ideal time to have all these questions still floating around with just three games left in the regular season, but stability hasn't exactly been in the cards this season when it comes to the Sixers. Certainly not like it has been for the San Antonio Spurs.

NOTES

The Sixers play at the Houston Rockets on Thursday and at the Indiana Pacers on Friday before ending the season at home on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks... Houston is currently the fifth seed in the West, just a game behind the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers for No. 4, and a game and a half behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 spot.