Philadelphia 76ers Weekly Report: To Sell or Not to Sell

(Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)

Game 45: Tuesday, Jan. 28th, 2025

Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: PHI 118 – LAL 104

The Sixers ended January in the best way possible. Following a massive upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers and a crucial standings win over the Chicago Bulls, they beat a good Lakers team without Joel Embiid and Paul George. Embiid’s absence should be pretty much expected at this point, but losing George again has been tough. However, whatever slow start Tyrese Maxey had seems long gone now. It will be hard to sell

Maxey has been on a tear and had one of his best games of the season to down the Lakers. He scored 43 on 15/26 shooting, taking over on the scoring end. Kelly Oubre Jr chipped in 20 with eight boards, and he’s been fantastic since January. Once known as a me-first score-only guy, Oubre has settled into a role, willing to do the dirty work on the boards, and he’s playing good defense. 

Eric Gordon has also been ten times better since getting his wisdom teeth removed in late December. Once considered a waste of minutes, Gordon is shooting 52.6% from three in January, a spacing dream. He’s playing well enough that other teams are inquiring about him in trade talks. Speaking of trade talks, Guerschon Yabusele continues to be one of the pickups of the season. Both scored 14 points on great efficiency, which is exactly what you want out of role-players. They are the primary “sell” candidates if the Sixers go down that path.

The Sixers were able to weather a good game from LeBron James, who nearly had a 30-point triple-double. Anthony Davis went out early (and who would’ve known this was the last time the Lakers would see him), and despite a great effort from Dalton Knecht, the Sixers controlled the game from the second quarter.

 

Game 46: Wednesday, Jan. 29th, 2025

Sacramento Kings at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: PHI 117 – SAC 104

The Sixers extended their win streak to four, defeating the Sacramento Kings, one of the hottest teams in January. This was poetic in a way, as the Kings had ended the Sixers’ win streak earlier in the month and started a massive loss streak. 

It’s important to note that the Sixers’ weaknesses without Embiid haven’t changed. Just like last time, they were still badly out-rebounded by the Kings. The interior defense wasn’t very good, either. The difference right now is Maxey playing his absolute best basketball. It’s not a sustainable way to win, but to be fair, this is not how the Sixers are meant to operate. The Sixers are still being coy about Embiid’s true status, but each short-handed win really makes the full potential of this team feel better. 

Oubre Jr was solid, Gordon continued being hot from three, and the Kings couldn’t buy a bucket from deep. Sabonis had a triple-double, but the Kings were 10/41 from three, and it’s hard to win like that. Beating the Lakers and Kings back-to-back is solid stuff, even if it was at home.

 

Game 47: Frida,y Jan. 31st, 2025

Denver Nuggets at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: DEN 137 – PHI 134

The streak had to end sometime, and as far as losses go, this one wasn’t bad. The Sixers gave the Denver Nuggets all they could handle, and they needed Nikola Jokic to put on a dominant performance at the end to win. If you told a Sixers fan two weeks ago that this would be how the month ended, they would take that ten times out of ten.

Maxey was magnificent again, scoring a game-high 42 with nine assists. He is unstoppable right now. Yabusele scored his career-high with 28 on 12/17 shooting, while Oubre Jr. scored 27. Those guys have really stepped up in a major way. On the other hand, Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. all scored basically at will. Jokic basically sleep-walked for three-and-a-half quarters before scoring 11 points on 4/4 shooting in the last two minutes to come back and win.

The same problems as always were there, and so far, they’ve been able to survive based on Maxey playing like 2018-2019 James Harden. That won’t last forever, but it shouldn’t have to. Keyword there being shouldn’t. George and Caleb Martin should be ready sooner rather than later. Embiid’s injury was never supposed to be serious, but he’s been out a month with little news, so who knows with him? 

 

Game 48: Sunda,y Feb. 2nd, 2025

Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: BOS 118 – PHI 110

The Sixers love to follow up an encouraging streak with a calamitous defeat. Losing to the Boston Celtics in a vacuum isn’t really bad. It’s not great, but the Sixers are injured, and the Celtics are very good. It’s the way they lost that is truly depressing. The Sixers had a massive lead late in the third, 26 points to be exact. In the next 15 minutes, they were crushed and ended up losing by eight, a truly absurd turnaround. 

Jayson Tatum took over in the second half, going 9/12. He also had 11 assists in the game. Maxey was the opposite, starting hot and fading late. He still scored 34 points on 9/21 shooting, including ⅝ from three. That’s still a good game, but it was also his least efficient night in eight games. In fact, it was his first time shooting below 50% in that stretch. That’s how good he’s been, but he can only do so much.

Yabusele had another great game, scoring 21, while Oubre had his worst scoring game in quite a long time. He still had a double-double, though, and his rebounding has been really noticeable. Justin Edwards also put in another good shift. He was a DNP-CD for most of the year but has all of a sudden been elevated to a starting role due to the injuries. He’s held his own, which is impressive for an undrafted rookie. 

It’s a demoralizing way to end the week, no doubt, but overall, it’s been a solid end to January. It was not inconceivable to lose all of these games, and they got a crucial game over the Chicago Bulls. They are now just a game back from said Bulls for the tenth seed. Orlando and Atlanta have also been free-falling, going 2-8 in their last ten, so there’s a lot of opportunity for advancement.

 

Weekly Musing: Trade Deadline

Should the Sixers sell at the deadline? On one hand, Yabusele is very valuable right now; he’s incredibly cheap and playing very well. Eric Gordon also repaired his value in January. The Sixers are also 10 games below .500, and Embiid has no timetable for returning. 

On the other hand, this latest run will make it hard for them to stay in that 1-6 range to keep their pick. There are six teams solidly below them, and many of them will unabashedly tank the rest of the way. The Toronto Raptors have gone 8-2 in their last ten, so it’s possible for them to overtake the Sixers, but again, the Raptors have every incentive to give up. 

The Sixers are closer to a play-in spot than the bottom six and should still go for it, considering a healthy squad can compete. The two trade baits in Yabusele and Gordon are also cheap and effective. Most trade talks involving them have been about 2nds, and there is little to no chance they can turn those seconds into anyone as effective as Yabu. It will be hard to retain him next season with his higher salary, but he’s too valuable right now for a team that still has some hope. A healthy Sixers team is dangerous. They have to keep that faith.

 

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Patrick Yen is a contributor on Back Sports Page.  He has written for NBC, SB Nation and a few more websites in his journalism career. He has been the Back Sports Page beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrick, a graduate from the Ohio State University, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but moved to Columbus, Ohio early in his life and has lived there ever since. You can find more of Patrick on Twitter @pyen117.