The Philadelphia 76ers played some unbelievable basketball Monday night in Detroit. After taking the day off Sunday, the Sixers surprisingly had little energy Monday as they took on the Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena.
Surprisingly enough, the Sixers didn’t have Joel Embiid on the floor either. As the big man appeared on Sunday night’s injury report due to back strain, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for Monday’s game.
Hours before they set off, Rivers made it clear that Embiid’s situation is small. And blocking any last-minute changes, Rivers is fully expecting Embiid to play Wednesday. Hoping Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris could help fill the gap on Monday night, the Sixers failed to get over the Pistons without their star for the fourth time this year.
The Sixers’ 119-104 loss led Philly back with a 12-6 record. Since they first live in the Eastern Conference, one would think there is not much to complain about. However, Philly ‘s record when Joel Embiid is not playing is eye – catching. Zero wins and four losses – that’s what the 76ers have to show when Embiid is off the floor.
Looking at the big picture, though, Rivers isn’t ready for panic. “That’s 19 games or whatever the season,” Rivers said Monday after the loss. “I don’t have many worries at this time of the season with everyone who has been inside and out. I’m not too worried about it. Of course, you have to win games without Joel, but you have to put your team in order first. “
Rivers build a valid point. Going to lose any kind of streak is never a unique situation for any team. When the sample size is small, however, there should be no need to panic. “I think the second half of the season, if that happens, we’ll see more,” Rivers continued. “Right now, it’s not on my list of worries. I’ll put it that way. “
While Rivers and the Sixers understand that losing their best player is always going to affect the team no matter what, there was more to Monday ‘s loss than there was without Embiid. One, the Sixers just came out smooth. The energy was not off, key players were in deceptive trouble, and scenes just didn’t drop when they needed to.
And two, Rivers also sees another absence as a key to the Sixers ’struggle. “We’ve had a lot of those games with a lot of guys out there,” he explained. [power forward] making a difference. But we didn’t play well tonight. This is a very capable game, in my opinion. “
At the end of the day, Rivers think the Sixers should have played better and won – it’s as simple as that. And while the history of the team without Embiid is well-known, evidence of less than five games isn’t enough to go into panic mode.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_