The tank has begun — Sixers decimated by Bulls

In what can only be described as downright embarrassing, the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Chicago Bulls 142-110. The tank has officially begun.

The 76ers fall to 20-37 and hold the 12 seed in the Eastern Conference. This is Philadelphia’s 8th straight loss and are 1-10 in the past 11 games. Chicago on the other hand improves to 23-35 and maintains the 10 seed in the East.

When the 76ers took a 2-0 lead to start the game, they did not expect that to be the only time they led. It was Philly’s only lead.

There are multiple places to look at when reflecting on how this loss happened, but teamwork is what jumps out.

Philadelphia didn’t have a single-player score at least 20 points, while Chicago had 2 players score 23+ and 3 other players with 17+ points. Not only did the Sixers have no one hit the 20-point mark, only Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. were able to surpass 13 points. Everyone wants to be the hero but nobody is talented enough to do it.

Not only was there an inability to score effectively, but the assisting was downright horrendous. Philly only had 19 assists compared to Chicago’s 32. Jared Butler, the only player for Philadelphia to record more than 2 assists, was the leading passer for Philly with 5 assists. This is unacceptable. Butler played just 13 minutes and was more effective than a player on a max contract.

The Bulls’ 32 assists were distributed all around, with Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, and Coby White having at least 5 assists.

Defensively, Philadelphia was straight-up dominated. After allowing 39 1st quarter points, the Sixers somehow still let up more points in the 3rd quarter with 40. A halftime 75-58 deficit looked bad, but the 40 points given up in the 3rd made it even more embarrassing. The Sixers were down a staggering 115-76 going into the final period.

There is no hope for this team this season. With Joel Embiid‘s season likely coming to a close and Paul George yet to play at the All-Star level that he was brought in to do, chances at the playoffs, let alone the play-in are slim to none. Philadelphia is currently 11.5 games away from the playoffs and now 2.5 from the play-in.

However, aspirations for next season are not lost. As much as it is a pain to say if the Sixers are to continue to lose at the rate that they are, the chances of retaining their 2025 1st-round draft pick increase. The 76ers need their pick to fall into the top 6 of the lottery, otherwise, the already-stacked Oklahoma City Thunder will add another pick to their repertoire.

The upcoming draft is loaded with talent with current freshmen such as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecome, Ace Bailey, and Derik Queen, among others have a chance to make an immediate NBA impact. If Philadelphia can land a talent like one of these players then the future is not all lost. Until then, one of the darkest periods of 76ers basketball goes on and the saga of the failed big three of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George continues.

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