The 76ers are heading in the wrong direction

     The 76ers visited the Pacers, and Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey played all night long. Tyrese Maxey had 31 points, largely from five three pointers. He added seven assists, and so did Joel Embiid. Embiid grabbed seven boards as well as scoring 31 points. Tobias Harris put up 24 points and five rebounds. Without James Harden, the Sixers won an easy game 141-121. 

    But it really hurt when they lost to the Bulls 109-105. The Bulls took two overtimes to defeat Embiid's squad. Embiid poured in 37 points and 16 rebounds, in 44 minutes. As expected, the key 76ers (Harris, Embiid, Harden, Maxey) all played over 40 minutes. Harris didn't have a horrible game, scoring 14 points and hauling in nine rebounds, and neither did Maxey, with six assists and 22 points. The person who did have a horrible game was Harden. Harden nearly had a double double, with seven rebounds and 12 assists, and he probably would have, if it wasn't for a putrid five points. It didn't help that he missed all six of his three point attempts. If the 76ers want to make a deep run to the playoffs, they definitely need more out of Harden, not a meager five points. 

    The 76ers may have made a mistake losing to the Bulls, but they didn't make the same one twice. They cleared things up with Chicago two days later. Maxey took charge, scoring 21 points, draining four threes. Harris dominated, putting up 20 points, and grabbing nine rebounds while dishing eight assists. De'Anthony Melton also posted 25 points and filled in Harden's absence well. Embiid was on pace to have a triple double, and maybe one of the best games of his career, as he had seven assists, seven rebounds, and 12 points in only 16 minutes, but due to mild right calf tightness, left the first half. It wasn't that much of an issue, however, becasue the Sixers still kept the Bulls under 100 points while coasting to a quick 116-91 win. 

    That win kicked off their road trip well, but it didn't last. Golden States has been having a pretty mediocre year, and took that out on the visiting 76ers. Embiid was a beast offensively, scoring 46 points, and also having nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Warriors were better. Their 120-112 win was largely from Jordan Poole's 33 points, Steph Curry's 29, and Klay Thompson's 21. Maxey's 21 points and Harris's 23 points and six rebounds were not enough for the win. 

    The next game was supposed to turn things around, after a couple of yucky losses. But it wasn't, in fact it was worse. The Suns beat Philly by 20 points. The Sixers had no answer for Devin Booker's 29 points and five rebounds. Phoenix had six Suns players with over 10 points, but the Sixers had only three.  Embiid's 28 point, 10 rebound double double was great, but the biggest highlight was Maxey's 37 point seven rebound outing. Maxey made seven out of 11 three point attempts. It's great to see Maxey shine, because he is the 76ers future and he is doing superb, even if he can't always deliver victories. 

Maxey played 34 solid minutes, but wasn't able to give the Sixers a win

Photo Credit: YardBarker

    And then it got worse. With the Sixers on the brink of a 50 win season they faced the Denver Nuggets to wrap up their road trip. They couldn't push it though and for now, their record will be left at 49-26. They were 49-25 to begin the game, but couldn't beat a tough group led by Nikola Jokic. The highly anticipated game was supposed to be a battle of the MVPs, as Embiid is threatening the Joker's crown. But Embiid was gone becasue of a calf injury, and the Jokic had a game. The reigning MVP had a 25 point, 12 assist, 17 rebound game. Maxey fought hard, scoring 29 points and dishing five assists, but he was the only 76er with more than three assists. It was actually a relatively close game, 116-111, but a disappointing end to a 1-3 road trip, with three consecutive losses. 

    Let's hope that the three game losing streak ends with the Mavericks.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The above photo was taken from a YardBarker article. Photo taken by USA TODAY Sports. Image used for commentary.