The Sixers traveled up to NYC to take on the New York Knicks. Far from the most talented team, this match up worked heavily in the Sixers’ favor even without star Joel Embiid. The game was way too close for comfort though as the Sixers were abysmal offensively against a below-average defensive team.
The Sixers came away with the win but they were only able to score 90 points against the lowly Knicks. Thankfully, the Knicks played just as poorly so the Sixers could control the win. This game featured two teams dragging their feet and Sixers just happened to be the team to end up on top. There weren’t many impressive performances from the Sixers but one stood out.
Player of the Game: Furkan Korkmaz
For the second game in the row, Furkan Korkmaz is your player of the game. Korkmaz is the only player on the bench who showed any signs of offensive life. Scoring 17 points on 12 shots, Korkmaz was the Sixers’ true sixth-man. Without him, the Sixers could very easily have lost this game.
Korkmaz really has come a long way even since the beginning of the season. Now shooting over 39% from three, he is truly becoming the “bomber” that Brett Brown has been searching for.
Takeaways:
Where in the World is Trey Burke?
Trey Burke has been one of the most reliable bench options for the Sixers this year, yet for some reason, Brett Brown refuses to play him. Burke by all appearances has been a model teammate, he even vocally disagreed with comments made by his father about his lack of playing time.
Burke has done all he can and more considering the limited opportunity he’s been given and Coach Brown is killing this team by benching him. Trey Burke needs to be set free for the Sixers to have a chance of climbing back up the playoff standings.
Make a trade already
The Sixers are struggling mightily on offense and need to add to the roster to fix this issue. Trades are continuing to happen around the Sixers but they’ve yet to join in on the fun. Plenty of players are out there still but they may not be for long. The entire Detroit Pistons are for sale apparently and while they’re far from a good team, some of their players would fit well in Philly.
Elton Brand needs to be wise to not give up too much but aggressive to help this team grow. Joel Embiid returning will certainly help the Sixers but there is clearly a depth issue. Raul Neto and Mike Scott are not the answer and the sooner the team realizes that the better.
Up Next…
The Sixers will stay in New York for a couple of days and face the Brooklyn Nets in an MLK Day showdown. After their Wednesday loss to the Sixers, you better believe Kyrie Irving and the squad are looking for some revenge. This game will be a hard-fought contest that will test the ability of the Sixers in front of a tough crowd.
Game-time is at 3:00 PM EST and you can catch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Coverage starts at 2:30 but if you’d rather listen along you can at 97.5 FM the Fanatic.
