Wednesday night marked the beginning of a four-game Western Conference road trip for the Philadelphia 76ers. Coming off of a two-game win streak, the vibes for the Sixers were hopeful, but the challenge ahead remained daunting.
All four of Philadelphia’s opponents on this road trip are currently in playoff position or at least a play-in spot, and all are at least five games over .500 on the season. The first team the Sixers would face would be the Phoenix Suns, led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Despite several occasional rallies, including a late-game push by the deep bench, the Sixers found themselves on the wrong side of a 102-115 game on Wednesday.
What went wrong for the Sixers?
First and foremost, Tyrese Maxey’s effective absence limited the Sixers’ chances in this game, as would be the case on any night that Joel Embiid is not on the court. After three consecutive 30-point games, Maxey was limited to six points on three of thirteen shooting.
Maxey’s offensive slump was particularly felt in the second quarter as the Suns made their push, scoring 39 points as the Sixers struggled to keep pace. Phoenix was able to pick apart Philadelphia’s defense inside and out.
Were it not for a net 11-point push by the end of the Sixers bench at the end of the game, the final score would have actually represented the game, which was far worse for Philadelphia than the 13-point spread implied. With wins by both the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, the Sixers fell down to eighth in the Eastern Conference with just over 10 games left in the season.
How the East is shaping up
Currently, the Sixers’ remaining schedule ranks 18th in the league, which is palatable, but seven of their next eight opponents will find themselves in the play-in tournament at the bare minimum. Joel Embiid’s rehab is coming along about as well as can be expected, and his return is still eagerly awaited.
A Joel Embiid update
Ahead of the matchup in Phoenix, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse gave an update on the reigning MVP’s recovery after meniscus surgery:
“We had a non-contact practice, so he was able to go through that. We have always said that we hope he’s going to get back to play. He is on the court. I’m not, I don’t want to say daily, but almost every day now where he’s on the court doing basketball things. All the checkups have been positive, and we’re just trying to; he’s kind of in the ramp-up phase now, like, what can he handle and when can he start having contact, and when can he start playing one-on-one, and when can he start playing five-on-five, when can he go through practice with contact? And then we’ll be really close.“
More than anything, the return of Joel Embiid is the key to the Sixers saving their season. Hopefully Philadelphia can continue to tread water until that time.
