Losing Control — 76ers Lose 2 in a Row

The Sixers went from an 8-game winning streak to now a 2-game losing streak after losing to the Celtics at home Wednesday Night. Fatigue seemed to have set in after playing the prior night against the Pacers, as both Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid had below-par games when it came to scoring. Both had 20 points, much less than Embiid’s average of 33 PPG and Maxey’s 28 PPG.

What went wrong once again?

Joel Embiid was a liability. He had an absolutely unacceptable -25 plus-minus. The reigning MVP should not be the reason why a team loses, but he was. He had little positive impact on the court and he will definitely be in need of some rest. Robert Covington played well in one of his first games starting this year, scoring 16 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals without any turnovers. Tyrese Maxey had a slow game with only 4 assists and 3 rebounds with his 20 points. Games like these with nobody stepping up are exactly how you lose. Somebody has to step up.

The Boston Celtics were short on players, with Kristaps Porzingis out with an injury and Jaylen Brown out with a non-COVID illness. Even with these stars out the Celtics still managed to achieve victory, thanks to Derrick White stepping up. White had an impressive 27 points in his 36 minutes of playing, which is well above his season average. Jayson Tatum played like he usually does and scored 29 points, snatched 8 rebounds, dished out 6 assists, and swiped 2 steals. Tatum is already in the MVP conversation with Joel Embiid and is making Boston a very scary team to play.

The Sixers look to bounce back on Friday Night in Atlanta against the Hawks at 7:30 P.M. EST. They look to get back on track and get back to the stardom they were at in the first 9 games.