Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Philadelphia 76ers

Center-Depleted Sixers Struggled in the Paint

With Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor out last night, the Sixers were left with 6’10 Richaun Holmes and 32-year-old Tiago Splitter manning the center position. Although they caught a break when the All-Star Starter and rim scoring specialist on the Bucks had to play through an illness, they were still lit up to the tune of 52 points in the paint.

Giannis ordinarily would have had a field day prancing around and through Holmes and Splitter. Still, the league leading team in points in the paint did as expected, and in return, allowed only 30 points in the paint at the other end.

While a team that heavily features Giannis and Greg Monroe should have been able to feast on the defense Philly had prepared for them, they still got the win, which is what mattered most on this occasion. Still, some players, such as Middleton, settled too easily for jumpers when they might have found more success trying to attack the smaller sized centers.

Giannis got into the paint, scoring and dishing out assists from there, and he did it enough to avoid an embarrassing loss. However, any playoff bound team is certain to have legitimate centers patrolling the paint, meaning the Bucks have to step it up, and fast.