The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets defy expectations before the season for various reasons.
Predicted to fight for a high playoffs seed, the 76th is well below .500 on the way into a Wednesday road game against Brooklyn Nets, which is in its best stretch of a rebuilding season.
Philadelphia is 2-0 against Nets this season but enters the final game before All-Star breaks a seasonal 13 matches below .500 due to an inability to have Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George consistently available in the same way time .
Sixers is about to end with their first losing record since the 2016-17 season, when they went 28-54.
Philadelphia is on a four-game losing line, has lost six out of seven and is 6-14 in its last 20 games since Embiid got 28 points in a victory 123-94 at Brooklyn on January 4.
Embiid played in his 17th match Tuesday and compiled 27 points and 12 returns, but Sixers ended with a 106-103 home loss to Toronto Raptors. Philadelphia fell behind 17-4 during the five minutes, recovered to lead at half time but could not come through with a binding or prominent basket for the past 90 seconds.
“The crime is pretty clumsy right now,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse after his team shot 40.7 percent and fell to 6-24 when he was held below 110 points.
Embiid, who has not yet appeared at both ends of a back-to-back this season, may be out on Wednesday. If Embiid sits again, Sixers will lean on Maxey and George, provided both are available.
Maxey was held for a season-low five points Tuesday but has received at least 30 of eight of its last ten games. After the Raptors game, the nurse seemed to believe that the guard was playing through an injury.
“I don’t really want to speculate too much before talking to him,” the nurse said. “I have a feeling that there is something. I don’t hope, but I think there may be something that physically disturbs him, so I just want to control (on) it.”
George finished with 14 points, and he has not received 15 or more in his last five matches.
Brooklyn’s exhaust loss in the previous meeting with Philadelphia was part of a 1-12 skid that culminated in a seven-game losing line.
Since the last game of the ski is Nets 5-1. In each of these victories, Nets allowed fewer than 100 points and limited the opposition to 41 percent shooting or worse.
Brooklyn’s latest strong defensive show was a 97-89 home victory over Charlotte Hornets on Monday. The Nets exceeded Hornets 51-35 in the second and third quarters to reach 19 wins, more than many forecasters for the pre-seasons predicted would be their final total.
“We remember when that list came out. We definitely hold it on the back of our heads,” Brooklyn Reserve Trendon Watford said. “They doubted us. Now, with another game left before the break, we already passed what they had us on. So shouted to the experts.”
Nic Claxtton led six Brooklyn -players in double figures on Monday with 16 points. Claxtton has reached double numbers in five of his last six matches but is doubtful for Wednesday with a right ankle.
If Claxtton is not available, Day’ron Sharpe would probably start in the middle. Sharpe contributed 14 points and nine returns against Charlotte, and he shoots 65.7 percent (44-for-67) in the last 11 matches.
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