5 things: Sixers survive scare vs. Cavs

The 76ers are 10-games into their much anticipated 2019-20 season and they look nothing like a championship caliber team. The talent is unquestionably there. The potential is evident. But, my goodness, they're sloppy, lack offensive flow and can't shoot. That's a horrendous combination. 

Luckily, their talent is getting them by in some really close games against inferior opponents. When asked about "playing with fire," head coach Brett Brown cleverly responded, "It is a blowtorch. And it's violent. It's a really big one." 

That blowtorch wasn't strong enough to stop the Sixers in a thrilling, nail-biting 98-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers gave up a 9-point lead, fell behind and eventually erased a five-point deficit with 3:34 to play in the fourth quarter. They went on a 6-0 run sparked by a couple of huge baskets from an ice cold Tobias Harris, and a huge dunk from Joel Embiid with 13.2 seconds left. Kevin Love subsequently missed a healthy three-pointer at the buzzer. 

"That's not a good feeling any of us have when Kevin Love has a fairly open look," Brown said. 

Sixers fans could take a deep breath after understandably booing their beloved basketball team again. 

"I understand the fans are very engaged here," Josh Richardson said. "If we're not performing up to the standard, we let each other know. I mean sometimes the fans feel like they need to let us know, but we don't take that personally." 

It was one of the uglier wins in recent memory. But, a win is a win. Here are some observations. 

Embiid Shaping Back Into Form?

Embiid finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds in just over 35 minutes of action. He did that on 10-of-20 from the floor and three-of-five from distance. However, he only went to the foul line five times. In fact, the team only took 13 total, which isn't nearly enough. 

This was Embiid's fourth game in a row since his two-game suspension, which unsurprisingly got him out of shape and rhythm. 

Like it or not, the insanely talented 25-year-old gets out of shape when he misses even a small period of time. That leaves the question about whether or not to sit him on the second pat of this back-to-back, which concludes Wednesday night in Orlando. The 76ers are going to update his status by the 1p.m. deadline.

If I was making the decision, I would play him, even on limited minutes, to keep up his conditioning. Not to mention, the Sixers new starting five of him, Ben Simmons, Al Horford, Harris and Richardson haven't played that much together because of injuries and his suspension. 

"We still trying to figure it out how to play with each other," Embiid said, "and I don't think we're no where close our potential offensively." 

Horford reluctantly missed Tuesday's game for planned rest. It's better to get these guys time together early rather than later. The load management should kick into further gear once they have a base of substantial minutes together.

Brown's Brilliant Play Call 

Criticism of the 76ers half court offense is fair, especially since they so often look very erratic and out of sorts. It's not their strength. That's no secret. 

However, credit should go to Brown for calling a timeout after Simmons won a jump ball over Love with 24.8 seconds remaining. The head coach realized their offensive setup at the time was a mess and they needed to draw up a play. They drew up a great one that freed up Embiid in the paint for a clean dunk. Harris, despite his offensive woes on the evening, delivered a nice pass to the open big man. 

JOJO JAMMINGFORTHELEAD pic.twitter.com/w9519wQVtU

Tobias, Yikes

Speaking of Harris, it can't go unmentioned that he couldn't throw a rock into the ocean. 

In fairness, Harris played despite having the stomach bug Tuesday, but he was still 0-for-11 from three-point range. To his credit, he made four of the team's final six points in that late rally, as well as the game winning assist to Embiid. 

"When it matters, he showed up," Embiid said.

Ben Simmons' Decision Making

This wasn't a topic in the postgame media sessions because of everything else that happened to close this contest, but Simmons led the Sixers with four turnovers, two of which came in the latter half of the fourth quarter. 

That certainly frustrated many of the Wells Fargo faithful. 

Simmons late game mistakes happened because it appeared he was looking to pass before score. He was getting too fancy and careless with his ball distribution. 

Coming back from a shoulder injury helped the Sixers from a defensive standpoint, but he really needs to start taking more shots soon rather than later, from anywhere. Simmons did take a short fadeaway jumper early in the game and made it, but he only attempted nine shots total, making seven of them. 

Embiid attempted 20, Harris 17 and Richardson 17. Nine is simply not enough for Simmons—an elite talent. 

Wonderful National Anthem

This game was preceded by a magnificent performance of the National Anthem by 97-year-old World War II veteran Peter Dupré, who stood up in front of a packed house and gave a wonderful rendition with his harmonica. 

Bravo, Sir, and thank you for your service.

This is awesome.A 97-year-old WWII veteran played the National Anthem on the harmonica ahead of the Sixers-Cavs game on Tuesday Night. pic.twitter.com/aP1fiCPVbk