Over the last few weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers have gotten two things they desperately needed — wins and rest.
The improving Sixers hope to author another strong performance Friday when they host the scuffling Indiana Pacers.
In a season where all three Philadelphia stars — Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey — have missed significant time due to injuries, the Sixers have struggled to even stay afloat in the Eastern Conference. They lost 14 of their first 17 games before rebounding to win four of their last five contests as the team’s health has improved.
“I think there’s some quick growth we can make there,” coach Nick Nurse said of his increasingly healthy squad, “just because they’ve played together, finally. They’ve played together and now we can start tweaking it a little bit.”
Most recently, Philadelphia posted a 108-100 road win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, as Embiid had 31 points and 12 rebounds, George notched 12 points and seven boards and Maxey registered a triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
Perhaps even more important than their strong on-the-court efforts of late is that the Sixers have not played in five days. That can only help Embiid — who returned from a seven-game absence on Sunday — and George as they recover from knee issues and Maxey as he continues to work his way back from a hamstring injury.
“(The time off) was great,” said KJ Martin, who has emerged as an important rotational piece for Philadelphia. “I know everybody probably has different things going on with their bodies, so to just have a couple days to get treatment, go in the cold tub, do whatever you need to do just to try to get somewhere close to 100 percent, it’ll definitely help us in the future.”
The Pacers have also had a tough season partly due to injuries, so they similarly welcomed a multiple-day layoff to get healthier and more cohesive on the court.
Indiana has also not played since Sunday, when it fell 113-109 to the visiting Charlotte Hornets, but it’s been helpful for the team to get back to basics this week.
“Obviously in the NBA season you don’t get a ton of practice time,” star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said, “so we tried to use this time right. Get back to fundamental things. … It’s definitely good to get here as a group and go over some things.”
T.J. McConnell scored a career-high 30 points for Indiana, which has lost five of its last six. The Pacers were doomed by turnovers (17), rebounding (45-29) and defense, as Charlotte shot 51.3 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from 3-point range.
“I think (the Hornets) were trying harder,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “There you go. We gotta try harder, you know?”
Among the Pacers who had quiet games on Sunday were Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Pascal Siakam, who combined to shoot 11 of 29 from the field, including 1 of 13 from 3-point range, and score 29 points. In fact, none of the Indiana starters finished with more than 11 points.
“We’ve gotta be a team that can generate energy when things aren’t going well,” Carlisle said. “Unfortunately, a lot of our struggles come down to what’s happening offensively, and that’s something that we can control and we have to change.”
–Field Level Media