After winning eight of the first 10 games, the Philadelphia 76ers did the inverse and lost eight of the last 10 games as well. Despite the Sixers having a 10-10 record, the franchise nor the fan base should panic about this rough stretch.
Philadelphia 76ers fans shouldn’t panic about the 10-10 record.
On the surface, this .500 record would cause panic for the team that was ranked first in the Eastern Conference at the end of last season. However, context is extremely important when looking at the 76ers record.
There are several glaring reasons why Philly has struggled as of late. The biggest being until the most recent double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves the Sixers were without All-Star center Joel Embiid for the nine previous games.
Despite being hampered by an injury to begin the year, Embiid has been clearly the best player on the 76ers. However, he’s not the only player that has missed time during this 2-8 stretch. Philly’s other All-Star Ben Simmons has yet to make his season debut and despite his flaws, he would have helped the team survive this stretch without Embiid.
Then Tobias Harris had missed four games during this skid and he’s arguably the third or fourth best player. Seth Curry also missed two games and he’s the fourth or fifth best player on the roster. Missing key contributors will certainly make an impact.
However, it wasn’t just stars and key contributors that missed time. Danny Green, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton, and Isaiah Joe also weren’t available during this stretch as well. These players are important to the club’s depth.
Health has been the biggest contributor to the Philadelphia 76ers’ recent skid and fans shouldn’t expect this to continue with it appearing that the roster is returning to health.