The Sixers Pick Up Their Weekly Win, Currently Sitting at 4-14

Corey Chmara

This past week, the Sixers played just two games: at home against the Houston Rockets and at the Detroit Pistons, finishing the week with a 1-1 record. Joel Embiid did not play in either game and has appeared in only 4 of the team's 18 games to start the season. Paul George also did not play against the Houston Rockets but made his return from a knee injury (again) against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night in Detroit.

Last Wednesday, the Sixers lost to the Rockets 122-115 in overtime. Tyrese Maxey had an impressive performance, scoring 39 points and recording 10 assists, marking his first double-double of the season. Guerschon Yabusele also played a key role in keeping the Sixers in the game with 22 points. He has been a solid contributor both off the bench and in the starting lineup when called upon, although his minutes have been somewhat inconsistent.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

On Saturday night in Detroit, Paul George returned and had a significant impact on the team's 111-96 win over the Pistons. Although George scored just 11 points, he posted a team-high +30 plus-minus and helped create open looks for others by simply being on the floor. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 28 points, also adding 4 rebounds and 6 assists to his stat line. He's starting to find his groove, and it's definitely making the Sixers more competitive.

As for Jared McCain, he scored 15 points against the Rockets on 6-19 shooting. On Saturday in Detroit, McCain came off the bench, where he had started the season, scoring just 7 points on 3-7 shooting. Early in the season, McCain had several strong performances, so it was expected that he would eventually come back down to earth a bit. However, it will be interesting to see if Nick Nurse fully shifts him back to the bench once the Sixers are healthy. I definitely believe McCain is a top 5 player on the roster, but his scoring off the bench could become a valuable asset for Nurse, especially given the lack of scoring options in that role.

Looking ahead, the Sixers will play four games this upcoming week: Tuesday at Charlotte, Wednesday vs Orlando, Friday vs Orlando, and Sunday at Chicago. Ideally, you'd hope for two main outcomes in these games: first, that the team can at least go 2-2, if not 3-1. The Sixers have more talent than all four of these teams, but we all know how things can unfold. The second hope is that Joel Embiid returns to the lineup at some point. I'm looking at Wednesday’s game against Orlando as a possible return, given that it’s the second half of a back-to-back and Embiid typically prefers to return at home rather than on the road. Of course, the situation with Embiid's injury remains unclear, and we still don't have much information.

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Andre Drummond has also been ruled out for the Sixers' next three games, so I expect to see a lot of Yabusele and Adem Bona at center. This will be good experience for the rookie out of UCLA.

If the Sixers want to start winning consistently and climb back up the Eastern Conference standings, going 3-1 this week should be a top priority. They need to take it one game at a time and start winning games they should be winning.

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