The Sixers had no answer once the game turned into a grind.
Philadelphia fell 90-64 to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday afternoon at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, and the box score told the story early. The Sixers were already on pace for just 32 points after the first quarter, and they never found a way out of the hole. Houston controlled the game on both ends, while Philadelphia looked worn down from the opening tip.
Even in a rough outing, Labaron Philon Jr. gave the Sixers something to build on. The 22nd overall pick was the one player who consistently looked composed against Houston’s pressure.
After the Detroit Pistons “questionably deployed drop coverage against Philon on July 9,” the rest of the league has taken a different approach, and the Rockets followed the same blueprint as the Indiana Pacers did on Saturday. They kept him out of the lane on screens, blitzed and showed hard, and forced him to move the ball or reset the possession.
Philon still found ways to make plays. He scored seven of Philadelphia’s eight first-quarter points, then kept making the right reads as the game wore on.
The shot release is quick, the off-the-dribble scoring is real, and he handled Houston’s coverages without getting rattled. That matters more than the raw numbers, especially with Philon expected to help anchor the second unit.
He finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, along with four assists and two steals.
Johni Broome, by contrast, had a much tougher afternoon. Rebounding had been one of his best traits through the first two summer league games, but Houston took that away.
The Rockets beat Philadelphia on the glass 47-36, and Broome’s strength and awareness didn’t show up the way they had before. Fatigue seemed to affect his mobility and verticality, and Houston kept sneaking in for offensive boards.
His outside shot wasn’t there either. Broome went 0-for-3 from deep, and the bigger issue was the speed of his release.
The misses are one thing; the slow motion of the stroke is what raises the real questions about how it will hold up against quicker, longer NBA defenders. He finished with two points and three rebounds.
Isaac Johnson also had a revealing night. He showed the same defensive concerns that make it hard to project a clear two-way path right now.
Houston attacked him in drop coverage, and he struggled to use his size and positioning to protect the rim. If the perimeter jumper isn’t falling, it gets even harder to carve out a role.
Amani Lyles, though, made the most of his chances. He turned a messy game into 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, finishing well around the rim and taking advantage of Philon’s playmaking. He also helped cover for Dante Maddox Jr., whose shot was off as well.
With the roster stretched thin, it’s the kind of game that makes you think about what Philadelphia could use from reinforcements like Caleb Love, Rayan Rupert or even Justin Edwards. For now, the Sixers move on quickly and face the Orlando Magic at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday.
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