The Philadelphia 76ers may have lost to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, but they are 3-2 on their six-game road trip, and they have a chance to finish above .500 on the trip despite not having superstar Joel Embiid in the lineup.
They certainly missed Embiid’s presence on Tuesday as the Sixers struggled from the jump. They could not get into an offensive groove without him, and they struggled badly on the defensive end as Denver got whatever it wanted.
At the end of the day, the Sixers did not have the big fella and it cannot be an excuse. The focus now is on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday to finish the road trip and have it be a successful one.
“We have a chance to go plus-.500 on a road trip without, Joel so that’s what we should be focused on,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Not that we’ve lost two without Joel. We’re focused that we want three on this road trip and we have one more to win and we can have a positive road trip so I think that’s where our focus will be.”
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Tobias Harris, who had played very well in Embiid’s absence, stepping up as a leader on both ends, had a tough game on Tuesday as did the entire team. His focus is also on the Cavaliers. The team has an opportunity to bounce back.
“A win in Cleveland would be big for us especially for this trip,” said Harris. “We want to finish the trip and I thought that we had a pretty good trip thus far. Tonight wasn’t how we wanted it to pan out and then the Clipper game so we get to kind of redeem ourselves after dropping two straight.”
The Sixers will face a tough Cavs team that, despite being toward the bottom of the East standings, has Philadelphia’s number. Cleveland has beaten the Sixers in both previous matchups this season.
“After tonight, we can’t way to play them,” said Ben Simmons. “They’ve got the number on us right now, but, obviously, we believe we’re the better team. We’ve got to go prove that and show that and be ready. We know that we’re going home, so maybe that will give us a little more energy.”
At the end of the day, the win is the most important thing on Thursday, but it is also about the Sixers getting back to playing their brand of basketball. They were not all that physical against Denver, and it cost them from the start.
“We need that win, but we got to do it in a way where we feel good about it and we’re able to get out there and execute how we want to play, and play our type of basketball,” Harris added. “It’s the mentality of onto the next one, but at the same time, that’s an important game for us and we need it.”
The Sixers will also have to focus on coming up with a better game plan against the Cavs following their two previous losses.
“The problem is Cleveland has beaten us twice and they’re gonna have a ton of confidence coming into the game,” Rivers finished. “No matter what they’re doing, all they know is every time they see the Sixers they’ve won. We’re gonna have to come up with a better game plan against them and we’re gonna have to play better against them.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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