76ers Bulldoze Lakers in Blowout

The Sixers dominated the Lakers on Monday Night in a game that really demonstrated the teamwork of this team. Nick Nurse has solidified himself as a coach doing whatever it takes to win, and someone who never takes his foot off the petal. A 138-94 final score doesn’t happen by accident or on a “lucky” night, especially not against an elite team. They occur by the entire team works together by scoring consistently on one end of the floor and by locking up scorers on the other end. Clearly, Philadelphia’s 12-5 record isn’t a fluke and this game made that obvious.

The Sixers still hold the 4 seed in the East after this statement victory and they continue to lie 1 game behind the 1-seeded Boston Celtics. The Lakers have fallen to 10-8 on the year and are now the 8 seed in the West.

What again has carried the Sixers to victory for the 12th time this year?

Embiid’s Use of His Resources

Joel Embiid took advantage of what seemed like every single opportunity that was given to him. The 2023 Kia NBA MVP dropped 30 points on LeBron James and the Lakers while also grabbing 11 boards and dishing out 11 assists. We haven’t seen Embiid have at least 11 rebounds and 11 assists since all the way back in April of 2019, where Joel scored 34 points with 13 rebounds and 13 assists. Joel has consistently proven that he is one of, if not the best player in the world over the past few weeks, and Monday’s game was no different. He used what he had to perfection and was responsible for 33% of all assisted makes against Los Angeles.

Maxey Continuing to Exceed to the Next Level

Tyrese Maxey has continued to show that he doesn’t need James Harden or Doc Rivers to become a star in this league with another All-Star-esque performance. He led the game in points with 31 and was Joel Embiid’s go-to throughout the night. This now marks Maxey’s 5th game with 30 or more points, which is good enough for almost 30% of his games played. He repeatedly shows why Daryl Morey made the right decision in not trading him for Damian Lillard, as Maxey is debateably having a better season the Lillard.

Philadelphia takes on the Pelicans in New Orleans on Wednesday at 8:00 P.M. This could be what many football fans call the lethal trap game, where a team is so focused on the future that they don’t think about the present. With Philly taking on Boston on Friday Night, chances are New Orleans is being overlooked and that is never what a fan should want.