The Philadelphia 76ers are in a funk. The team has lost four straight games including consecutive one-point losses to the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat that were each frustrating in their own unique ways and another uninspired effort in a blowout to the Indiana Pacers. In addition, the Sixers have now lost seven of their last 10 games, and have fallen all the way to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Not surprisingly, the team has tumbled down ESPN’s power rankings as a result, checking in at number 12 this week.
The team has not resembled the championship contender many expected them to be with a myriad of issues that would require an article of their own to cover fully. Just to touch on a few of those issues, the Sixers have displayed inconsistent effort, especially at the defensive end, a concerning lack of focus and intensity, and a clunky offense that is compounded by long-stretches of poor shooting.
As ESPN notes in its blurb on the Sixers, it hasn’t been all bad and on the occasions that the team has played its best basketball, it has looked every bit a threat to win a title, with the win over the Bucks on Christmas day being the most recent example. The Bucks currently hold the top spot in the power rankings, and the Sixers also hold wins over the number three, five, seven, eight, and nine teams in the power rankings.
And therein lies the problem. When the Sixers are locked-in and engaged, they can play with any team in this league. But those instances have been much too few and far between. The team has put itself in danger of not holding home-court advantage for a single round in the playoffs, and with a poor road record of 7-12, that is a serious concern.
The Sixers have done themselves no favors with the inconsistent play and are failing to put themselves in the best position to succeed come playoff time. If they don’t right the ship soon, they are setting themselves up to have one of the most disappointing NBA seasons in recent memory.
They’ll look to start that process Monday night when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.