Game 34: Saturday, Jan. 4th, 2025
Phoenix Suns at Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: PHX 109 – PHI 99
January has been a bit of a struggle to start. Joel Embiid was unavailable for this game or any others this week, which did not help matters. Despite Devin Booker shooting horribly, Paul George wasn’t much better. Tyrese Maxey was all right, and even though Kelly Oubre Jr. was great, the Sixers had no answer to the recently benched Bradley Beal. The injury situation has really hurt the Sixers immensely, and they just don’t have the depth to compete right now.
All five of the injury inactives in this game were supposed to be critical pieces of the rotation, and all of them missing is putting people in spots they really can’t handle. The bench scored just seven points. A lot of blame is being placed on Paul George in this one, and yeah, he didn’t play well and hasn’t a lot this year. That said, it’s not like the other team didn’t have a star performing even worse.
The biggest culprits of this rough week are the bench and interior defense, and it was definitely the case in this one.
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Game 35: Saturday, Jan. 4th, 2025
Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: PHI 109 – WAS 103
The sole win of the week was a struggle against what is almost a G-League team. The Sixers let the Wizards take the lead late in the fourth despite being comfortably ahead for three quarters. They did manage to take the W, but it was a struggle. With no George, Maxey was back to chucking it like crazy, and he scored 29 points, put it on 27 shots, and made 3/14 from three.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 21, while Eric Gordon and Kelly Oubre chipped in 15 each. The thin bench was ineffective again. Meanwhile, the Wizards bench dropped 57 points, with Jared Butler scoring 26 in 20 minutes of play. The Sixers interior defense is shambolic without Embiid, and the rebounding has suffered immensely as well. Yabusele and George are being relied on to fill that center role together, but they often give up five inches or more to the opposing big. Just like Domanatas Sabonis last week, the Wizards also feasted on the boards. Jonas Valanciunas grabbed eight offensive rebounds alone. Losing Embiid is the biggest cause of the interior defense and rebounding woes, but then also losing Andre Drummond is not helping matters at all.
Elizabeth Robertson/Philadelphia Inquirer
Game 36: Saturday, Jan. 4th, 2025
New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: NOP 123 – PHI 115
The worst loss of the bunch. The Suns at least had their key players. The same cannot be said for the Pelicans. The Pelicans are as injured, if not more so, than the Sixers, and to drop this one is tragic. Zion Williamson was suspended right before the game, and Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones all missed with injuries. CJ McCollum turned back the clock, scoring 38, including 6/11 from three.
A lot can be attributed to a hot shooting night from deep for the Pelicans, but still. The interior defense struggled once again, with Daniel Theis being the one to take advantage this time. That erased a good Maxey game and a good second half from Paul George. They combined for 55, and both had double-doubles. George has had a much better January shooting the ball, but for whatever reason, it’s not translating into wins. George picked up three fouls early on, which did not help his first half. He turned it around in the second, but George also found himself in foul trouble the next game. That could be a sign of frustration building up.
Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer
Game 37: Sunday, Jan. 12th, 2025
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic
Final Score: ORL 104 – PHI 99
The Magic are a good team, but they are the poster boys for injuries this season, leaving this one with eight healthy players. That makes this yet another bad loss, as Paolo Banchero just came back from a bad injury and is still playing himself into shape. The Sixers need to be taking these winnable games, as January isn’t getting any easier, and dropping these games to teams just as injured is a bad sign of things to come. They took care of business in December. January has not been so fortunate to start.
With no Embiid and Drummond again, it was unsurprisingly rebounding and interior defense that killed them. For all the good Yabusele has done this year, he cannot match up against anyone with legit center size. The Sixers were actually leading for most of the game, but a dreadful fourth quarter gave it all away. Jonathan Isaac and Trevelin Queen grabbed multiple crucial offensive rebounds, and it was far too easy for Isaac and Cole Anthony to score in the paint.
George continued his solid January, scoring 25, but crucially was unavailable in crunch time because he fouled out. When George and Embiid aren’t there to slow things down, Maxey goes into hero mode, and it arguably cost the Sixers this time. He took the final five shots, every single one once George fouled out. He did go 2/5, which isn’t terrible, but they all looked like he had no intention under any circumstance to pass the ball. Maxey has really struggled shooting this year, especially on his own. It’s hard to blame him; there’s not too much to pass to, but he’s also not in that Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant tier where he can shoot out of isolation efficiently night after night.
It’s not all bad news for the Sixers. George has seemingly found his shot early in January, with 46/45/100 splits this month. When the trio of Embiid, George, and Maxey play, the Sixers are 7-3, which is a fine record. The fact that they’ve only played ten games together is depressing, but it’s a sign that if they ever do come together, they can actually do some damage.
Mike Watters/Imagn Images
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 of 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.
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