Don’t overreact to the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Indiana Pacers.
After four months of not having basketball is easy to have a knee jerk reaction to the first game or two. For the Philadelphia 76ers and their fans, that can be especially true based on the team’s track record of struggling this season. However, they nor their fans should overreact to the loss against the Indiana Pacers.
The positives for the Sixers from this game aren’t much. Shake Milton looked really bad in his first start, turnovers where once again a problem for the Sixers and players like Al Horford (defensively) and Josh Richardson didn’t play up to their reputations. The only positive is that Joel Embiid had a monster game having 41 points and 21 rebounds.
Let’s just ignore the fact that Pacers small forward T.J. Warren scored 53 points (career) and that Indiana was without two starters in Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon. While Warren is a quality scorer, he won’t go off like that most nights and Pacers aren’t a team the 76ers should worry about in a playoff series.
Put it into perspective
More from Sixers News
- 3 Sixers players who could help Team USA Basketball
- 76ers 2k24 ratings: 3 most underrated players on Philadelphia roster
- 76ers head coach Nick Nurse bares lofty plans for Paul Reed this season
- Grade the Trade: 76ers swap Tobias Harris for superstar PG in mock deal
- Breaking Down Bombshell Report on Sixers Star James Harden
While all these things are concerning, Philly and their fans shouldn’t be freaking out. The biggest thing to remember is that the Sixers have a new starting lineup and it’s been over four months since they played meaningful basketball.
Milton needs time to adjust because remember despite his mind-season breakout, he’s still only a second-year player who played primarily G-League last season. Before that game, Milton hadn’t played with Embiid, Richardson, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris in any meaningful contest, so it may have been unrealistic to expect it to go off without a hitch.
There’s no denying that the game against the Pacers raised some red flags for the Philadelphia 76ers, but there’s no reason to believe that the Sixers are doomed moving forward.