After starting their season with a perfect 4-0 record through four games, the Philadelphia 76ers have went just 5-7 since then and have struggled to find any consistency. This consistency goes either way, as they haven't won back-to-back games since this 4-0 start, but they've also only lost back-to-back games once this season. 

A lot of this has been due to a plethora of injuries throughout the season already, with Joel Embiid, Paul George, Jared McCain, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Dominick Barlow all missing significant time this season. Additionally, even when Embiid and George have played, they've done so on a minutes restriction, minimizing their impact.

All things considered, it's pretty impressive how well they've been able to stay afloat despite the injuries, though it feels like that momentum is starting to slip. Maxey should seriously be considered for the MVP award, not only because of his incredible stats, but mainly because he's the sole reason that the team is winning right now.

Without Maxey, this team may be worse than it was last year. Obviously, this is taking into account the injuries to Embiid and Oubre, but regardless, it's been Maxey's play that has kept them among the top eight teams in the conference. 

If the Sixers could string together a few wins in a row, they would be in a really good position in terms of the standings. The Eastern Conference has been very close this year, mainly because it's early, but Philly is only two games back from the No. 3 seed. The Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors are the only teams that have been able to show consistent success as they're on a 12 and seven game winning streak, respectively. 

It will be difficult to see this consistency without Embiid, but at some point they're going to have to learn how to. It's not likely that Embiid plays even half of the games this season, so they're going to have to figure out a winning formula without their star big man. This doesn't necessarily have to be sustainable in the playoffs, but they'll need to get there first.

Right now, I would confidently say that this team has a better chance of making the playoffs than not, but it's up to them and how badly they want to win. It's clear that the talent is there, even without Embiid, it's just the effort and the coaching that are up in the air. If they can figure out some certain issues like their third quarter struggles, they should at least make the play-in tournament.