76ers, goin' down

With a dozen seconds left in Wednesday’s home loss to the Raptors, Joel Embiid had an open three-pointer for the win and declined, thought better, reconsidered his position as a center and decided to take the game-winner in the paint.

Gradey Dick, opponent and Toronto Raptors swingman, stripped Embiid on his way toward that paint, stealing the ball. The Sixers did not win in spite of Embiid’s presence, in spite of Paul George hitting two clutch jumpers in the fourth quarter, in spite of 34 minutes from Tyrese Maxey, one of the best players in the NBA in the calendar year 2025.

The Sixers are 20-33, two wins behind the (pointless) Chicago Bulls for the final spot in the NBA postseason Play-In. The Sixers won this tournament last April simply letting a stiffened Embiid drive into that same paint for an evening against the barely-enthused Miami Heat, Miami confident in the knowledge it could beat the Bulls or Hawks should the Sixers prevail.

Philly did, to lose in six in the opening round to New York. Nine months after that defeat, the Sixers face a daunting challenge (winning two-thirds its remaining games) simply to pass the crumbling Hawks in the race for the No. 7 seed, the same position the Sixers parlayed into the playoffs in 2024.

Can the Sixers collect themselves long enough to win 41 games?

“No one knew it was going to be like this,” Embiid said.

Everyone knew it was going to be like this, and Joel Embiid is about to explain why.