MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia 76ers were in a tough position to open the season on Thursday. They were on the road against a title favorite, the Milwaukee Bucks, and playing a new system without James Harden. Then they found themselves down by 19.
Instead of wilting, the Sixers clawed back into it and even took a 102-94 lead in the fourth quarter. They were unable to close it out, however, and lost 118-117. The Sixers keeping it close despite everything is a positive sign.
“We got some solid guys on our team,” said Tyrese Maxey who had 31 points in the loss. “One thing that I think we will take away is the team’s resilience. We knew that already.”
Maxey showed that resilience early. He was called for two quick fouls that limited his effectiveness. He had a tough time getting the team into sets and finding a groove in the first half, but he played a huge role getting Philadelphia back in the game in the second half.
Maybe the team’s resilience comes from all of the challenges they have had to battle through in recent years. From the Ben Simmons saga to the current Harden one, they have had to rely on each other to stay focused and win games.
“We’ve been through some stuff,” Maxey said. “It is what it is. Just that’s a fact and the guys on this team that have been through those things are preaching resiliency. We’re preaching never giving up. We’re preaching always fight through that brick wall and even when you get down, even when they do a run or something like that, we know that we’re always in it. We’re always in it.”
On top of what this team has been through, new coach Nick Nurse has this team prepared and believing it can win games no matter the circumstance.
“I think we just expect to win,” Kelly Oubre Jr. added. “We expect to win. We’re gonna go out there and compete as coach Nick has his troops do wherever he is, right? And he instills that into us each and every night with his leadership skills and just going out there and expecting to win.”
As the Sixers move on to face the Toronto Raptors on the road on Saturday, they will have to draw on this experience to win basketball games despite the Harden situation.
“We have the pieces to win games,” Maxey added. “We have the coaching staff. We have the team camaraderie. So, that’s big for us to be able to stay in and to be able to stay aggressive and be able to stay on a huge run.”
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