Joel Embiid and Paul George are coping with injuries and poor shooting performances. Averaging a league-most 39.9 minutes, Tyrese Maxey could be on the verge of breaking down if not careful. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford aren’t healthy enough to practice.
And still, there is optimism.
The 76ers head into Friday night’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Xfinity Mobile Arena with a 13-10 record. They’re in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, 1 ½ games out of third place heading into Thursday night’s games.
“You look at the East, it’s kind of clumped,” George said. “No one’s really pulled away yet, so we do have the opportunity to kinda write our future out from this point forward.
“No pressure to the cause of it, but we do have an opportunity to kind of take advantage of the standings. We can look at every game as important if you want to make steps going forward, for sure.”
The Sixers are favored to pick up a victory against the Pacers (6-18), who are tied for the league’s third-worst record.
Afterward, their next five games are against the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, and Chicago Bulls — teams with a combined record of 55-65.
The Sixers will face the Hawks (14-11) on Sunday at State Farm Arena. After four days off, they’ll face the Knicks (17-7) at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 19 before hosting the Mavericks (9-16) the next night. The Sixers will then entertain the Nets (6-17) on Dec. 23 and kick off a five-game road trip against the Bulls (9-14).
Facing just two teams with winning records will provide ample opportunity for the Sixers to ascend in the standings during their next six games.
A practice-heavy week with few practices, along with this upcoming stretch, could enable George and Embiid to get into rhythm while building on-court chemistry with teammates.
“I think we still have a number of guys, but, obviously, those two guys are at the top of the list that are still looking for rhythm and conditioning, but more probably rhythm,” coach Nick Nurse said. “You know it’s always a combination of those two things. And they had two good days [of practice].”
However, through eight games played this season, George’s field-goal percentage (41.8%) and three-point percentage (34.9%) are both the second lowest of his career. He’s also averaging the fourth-fewest points (14.1 points) of his career.
Meanwhile, Embiid is shooting career lows from the field (40.7%) and on three-pointers (21.4%), in addition to averaging a career-low 18.2 points in nine games this season.
The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star has missed 14 games this season due to left and right knee injury management. Meanwhile, George missed 14 games with left knee injury management and sat out another game with a sprained right ankle.
Their injuries and absences have put a heavy load on Maxey, who’s the league’s third-leading scorer at 31.5 points per game. He’s logging 39.9 minutes per game entering Thursday, with Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Dončić, who’s second in average minutes played, sitting 2.7 minutes behind him.
Maxey logged a season-high 52:18 during the 142-134 double-overtime home loss to the Hawks on Nov. 30. He’s logged at least 38:08 minutes in 17 of the Sixers’ 23 games. Nine of those games involved him playing at least 41:24. With 59 games remaining, whether Maxey can hold up all season is worth considering.
Meanwhile, Oubre has missed the past 11 games with a left-knee LCL sprain. The 6-foot-8 small forward has left an enormous void to fill. Prior to injury, Oubre was averaging 16.8 points and doing a solid job of guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.
The Sixers also miss Watford, who’s been a solid point forward. He finished with his lone career triple-double — 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists — in a 130-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 8. Watford, who’s averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, has missed the past six games with a left abductor strain.
“There on the court doing some individual stuff, but doing stuff with the team,” Nurse said of Oubre and Watford.
Despite injuries, the Sixers have been playing exciting basketball and given themselves a chance to win most games.
“We have been doing a lot of great things late in games,” Nurse said. “There’s a lot that’s encouraging. I feel like we’re going [upward], just by the way we are playing, and with [improved] health and participating and guys being available, and it feels like we are heading in the right direction.”
But the Sixers believe defensive improvement will help them ascend in the standings.
As of Thursday afternoon, they were ranked 14th in the league in defensive rating (113.5). The Sixers were also eighth in three-point percentage defense (.343), 11th in field-goal percentage defense (.464), and 15th in scoring defense (116.1 points per game). One bright spot is that they are first in blocked shots (6.1 per game).
“I think we’re a little ways away from where we need to be, but I think we’re getting there,” George said. “We’re making steps to be a better defensive team. Kelly, obviously, brings a lot. He’s still one of the best on-ball defenders. One of the best help-side defenders, and just that tenacity he plays with on the defensive end to get after it.
“We’re gonna get a lot once he comes back, and then it’ll allow us to be more versatile with myself, with KO, with [Dominick] Barlow, Quentin [Grimes], the four of us taking the bulk of the defensive matchups. We’ll be really good, but I like where we’re at. It’s a good thing to have areas to improve in when you are going in the right direction.”
