Sixers Weekly Newsletter

Corey Chmara The Sixers are just 1-9 in their last 10 games and haven’t looked worse at any point this season. Despite being relatively healthy, a lack of coaching, effort, and heart has been painfully evident—largely explaining their poor record. This past week, the Sixers resumed play after the All-Star break with a home game against the Boston Celtics. They were without Justin Edwards, Eric Gordon, and Kyle Lowry, though that’s hardly an excuse for the disappointing performance they put up. By halftime, the game was essentially over, although the Sixers made a few attempts to claw their way back in the second half. David Dow/Getty Images Against Boston, Embiid, George, and Maxey combined for just 48 points on 16-of-33 shooting. The Sixers allowed Boston to shoot nearly 45% from three (24-for-54) and struggled to find any rhythm offensively. Aside from a few flashes, the overall effort from the team was dismal. The Sixers fell to Boston 124-104 in a game many—including myself—thought...

Corey Chmara This past week was yet another disappointing one for the Sixers, as they went 1-3 despite Maxey, George, and Embiid all playing in two of the games. Honestly, I don't even want to dive into each game this week—they were all bad performances, even the meager 118-116 win against the Dallas Mavericks. Nic Antaya/Getty Images The Sixers got Paul George and Joel Embiid back for Friday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, who were without their All-Star, Cade Cunningham. You’d think the Sixers would at least keep it close, if not win the game outright. But that clearly wasn’t the case, as they trailed by as many as 34 points and allowed 78 points in just the first half. It feels like the players believe that simply having big names and former All-Stars on the roster means they can just show up and win. Nick Nurse doesn't prepare these guys to actually compete and put in effort. Instead, he lets them play freelance basketball, which leads to poor shot selection and constan...

Corey Chmara This upcoming week is a very important one for the Sixers, specifically for two reasons. The first is the February 6th trade deadline, which is fast approaching. As a result, many NBA players will likely be moved—some teams will aim to improve, while others will trade solid role players to contenders. The second reason why this week is crucial for Philly is that everyone is now practicing with the team, meaning we should have a fully healthy squad (excluding McCain) for the first time this season. Last week was actually a pretty solid one for the Sixers, despite their 2-2 record. They faced teams with winning records while missing both Paul George and Joel Embiid. The Sixers opened the week against the Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis for most of the game. This game turned into a one-man show led by Tyrese Maxey, who scored 43 points. But the role players also stepped up: Oubre had 20, Gordon added 14, Yabusele contributed 14, and Ricky Council IV came off the bench ...