The Philadelphia 76ers came up short against the Brooklyn Nets despite a good opportunity to pick up a solid win at home.
Despite entering the game with a great opportunity to continue their hot streak and win their third straight game, the Philadelphia 76ers were unable to capitalize and fell to the Brooklyn Nets by a final score of 114-106.
From start to finish, Tyrese Maxey wasn't his typical self and struggled greatly throughout the game. Frankly, it seemed like Joel Embiid was the only player who could get the Sixers' offense going, and there's only so much he can do by himself, especially when he's not fully healthy.
To the Nets' credit, they played some incredible defense throughout the game, but Philly missed some shots that they absolutely should've hit. Additionally, the Sixers were without a few key players, including VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, who usually provide an extra spark of scoring off the bench.
Even so, this was a game that they should've won, and they have now made it much harder to pass the Boston Celtics in the standings any time soon. This is once again a sign that they're not able to be a consistently good team regardless of the talent on the court.
The only encouraging sign was that Embiid did continue to play well, scoring 27 points in 31 minutes. Additionally, he went down early in the third quarter and had to go back to the locker room after being in quite some pain, but he was able to return and play the rest of the game.
This shows the progress in his recovery and that he's building back up some of that endurance that he lost with his last injury. It was a tough loss, but it is important to highlight the big positive that we can walk away with.
Unfortunately, however, Embiid was the only positive aside from Andre Drummond, who continued to play well as the backup center. Even towards the end of the fourth quarter when they finally gained some momentum, the Sixers couldn't buy a bucket or stop Brooklyn when they needed to most.
Some of this lack of defense can be attributed to the lack of Edgecombe and Dominick Barlow, who are some of the better defenders on the team. Both players show an incredible amount of effort when they play, and the absence of that effort was certainly felt tonight.