PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in a very soft part of their schedule, facing a string of opponents under .500. Considering the Sixers’ aspirations and talent, such a stretch could cause them to let their guard down and trip up against one of these teams.
After an easy 146-101 win over the Washington Wizards at home on Monday, the Sixers face the struggling Detroit Pistons on Wednesday on the road and again on Friday at home. As bad as the Wizards have been on the season, the Pistons are in an even worse state. They have lost a mind-boggling 20 games in a row.
Joel Embiid, who had 34 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on Monday, is making sure he and the Sixers don’t look past any of the opponents on their schedule.
“We don’t look at or I don’t look at it that way,” Embiid said. “You’re still in the NBA. You gotta respect the game and you gotta respect your opponent and on any given night, teams and players can go off. I never look at who are we playing so it’s all about looking at ourselves and finding ways to get better on both ends. I think that’s the mindset that we have and we should have it every night.”
One could argue the Pistons are the most dangerous team on Philadelphia’s schedule at the moment. To the point Embiid made, these are still NBA players, and with Detroit on a 20-game losing skid, there is going to be a certain urgency to end the streak. The Sixers will have to be ready for a battle on Wednesday.
[lawrence-related id=87546,87542,87538]