Philadelphia 76ers Face Must-Win Stretch

WEEKLY PREVIEW 1210
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After picking up two wins against the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks in a quiet week last week, the Philadelphia 76ers face a must-win stretch of five straight games against teams with losing records. The NBA’s current number four seed in the Eastern Conference currently stands just two games behind the one-seeded Boston Celtics. In an attempt to push for the number one spot, the Sixers have a crucial week to potentially add four wins to their resume.

Philadelphia 76ers week preview – Last Week’s Wins

The 76ers played only two games in last week’s action. First, the Sixers pulled out a close 131-126 win on the road against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, December 6th. A recap of that game and Joel Embiid‘s masterclass can be found here. Philadelphia also defeated the Atlanta Hawks 125-114 at home to get their record to 14-7. Despite not having Trae Young, the Hawks kept the game much closer than the Sixers would have preferred, but Embiid and Tyrese Maxey scored 38 and 30 points respectively to give their team the edge. Against two lackluster squads, the 76ers secured two wins but still had their struggles, trailing in the fourth quarter in both games. However, one highlight for the team is their free throw opportunities, attempting 42 more than both opponents combined last week.

Philadelphia 76ers week preview – A Week to Capitalize

Philadelphia now plays the Wizards at home tonight, the Detroit Pistons on the road Wednesday, the Pistons at home on Friday, and the Charlotte Hornets on the road Saturday. Not only do all three of these teams have losing records, but they rank as the bottom three teams in the Eastern Conference with a combined record of 12-51. Good teams capitalize with wins against worse opponents, and the Sixers need to keep doing that. Against the bottom 11 teams, Philadelphia is 8-0, two of those coming from last week. While Embiid and company have had great success getting to the foul line, the team’s biggest need of improvement that was exposed last week is the team defense.

Despite ranking fourth in point differential and points per game, the Sixers are just 18th in opposing points per game. While Embiid is currently battling a knee injury, he should not miss more than one game, and in the case he does, the team’s role players will need to step up and prove that the 76ers are more than just Embiid. This showed dramatically in tight contests against underwhelming teams. This week is a week for capitalization and confidence-boosting, and the 76ers need to prove that they are capable of badly beating bad teams.

Philadelphia 76ers week preview – Wizards Preview

The 76ers have faced off twice against the Wizards so far this season. The first game, at home on November 6th, was a 146-128 win for the Sixers, and the second was last week’s 131-126 win in Washington. After tonight, the two teams will play once more in the 2023-24 season on February 10th. Philadelphia will look to get one step closer to sweeping the season series as they play a second-straight home game. Unfortunately, Embiid’s status is in question for tonight’s game after tweaking his knee. If he is to miss tonight’s game, Paul Reed will likely get the nod to start tonight, and Maxey will need to continue his performance this season as the team’s second-leading scorer, only behind Embiid.

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