Why There’s Nothing More To Learn From The Sixers’ Final Regular Season Games
Sunday night, the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in an annoyingly ugly loss on the road. It leaves Philly with 4 games remaining in their regular season, and drops them to a full 3 games back on the Boston Celtics for the 2 seed. In fact, the Sixers are all but locked into the 3 seed, with the Cleveland Cavaliers 2.5 games back of them. Ok, so the seeding is set already, and we know that Doc Rivers is currently dealing with maintaining the health of his two superstars, Joel Embiid and James Harden. Embiid has had some type of lower body soreness since he was born, and Harden has been fighting off soreness in his Achilles, ailments which have led to nights on the bench for each of the Sixers’ top duo. I think we all know by this point that Philly is going NOWHERE in the playoffs without Embiid and Harden both healthy, so, to me, this all points towards one thing.
The rest of the regular season does not matter. The only goal is delivering 2 healthy superstars to the NBA playoffs. I understand people who want to see the Sixers take down the Celtics to prove that they can beat that team, but that seems like a moral victory that is not guaranteed to lead to success in the playoffs. Bottom line? We’ve learned everything we need to know about the Sixers in the regular season. There’s nothing that they can show over the final 4 games that should change your opinion on the ceiling of this team. Short of something going haywire health-wise, (everybody please pause and knock on wood) there’s nothing new that the players, coach, or team in general can show.
I mean, just look at their resume. Joel Embiid is the best player in basketball. James Harden has been transcendent when healthy, an elite pairing with Embiid. Tyrese Maxey, as a starter, can be lethal on any given night. The bench isn’t perfect, but they have players that have settled into their roles. After a 12-12 start, the team has been unbelievable record wise. And be honest with yourself; even if Doc Rivers coaches this team to a 4-0 finish of the regular season, are you really going to stop being nervous about his penchant for blowing big playoff leads? No, you’re not. I’m not saying to just completely tune out on the Sixers until the first round, and I’m not necessarily saying the team should shut down Embiid and Harden. My only argument is that these next 4 games should not change anyone’s opinion on who the Sixers are as a team. They’ve earned the fan bases faith; now, let’s get to the games that matter.
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