PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have played excellent basketball and have moved up the standings. They have received contributions from up and down the roster and have done a terrific job of coming together.
At the moment, they are coming off a disappointing effort. They let a 21-point lead slip away in a home loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday. After halftime, they failed to produce enough stops or take care of the ball, leading to the loss.
As they prepare for the rematch with the Magic on Wednesday, they understand what needs to be done to bounce back.
“Watch film, get better,” said James Harden. “I just think we’re getting a little complacent and whatnot. It’s a part of it. Watch film, get better, and try to come out with a win.”
Complacency could be a factor especially given how much success the team has had of late. It also could have been a trap game: They were coming off two impressive and emotional wins against the Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets.
“It’s a game,” Harden continued. “As much as we want it back, we can’t so watch film and get ready to go play them again so it’s good for us.”
Losses like Monday’s happen over the course of an 82-game season. The Sixers are a veteran team that understands what needs to be done to get back on track.
“We know we got to be better,” Joel Embiid added. “Just losing the game. It doesn’t matter if you would have been blown out or losing a lead like we did. We know we’re better than that. It’s on me. I gotta be better, and I will be better. We got to do it as a team. Everybody has to be locked in. We had a pretty good start so we just need to follow through on what we did at the beginning of the game and we’ll be fine.”
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