Joel Embiid’s presence is such a huge difference maker. He’s the reason why the Sixers are fun to watch and, more importantly, relevant again. But they will have to go through life without “The Process” in their current four-game road trip, which started on the wrong foot in last night’s 113-95 loss to Dallas.
Philly fought hard without question, making it close throughout the most part of the game behind 16 points from Jahlil Okafor and 13 points from Ersan Ilyasova. But the Sixers, who were also playing without Robert Covington (bruised hand), eventually got overpowered down the stretch, especially in rebounding where they grabbed just 39 boards compared to the Mavs’ 51.
The Sixers’ next stop is at San Antonio, and needless to say, taking down the far superior Spurs team is unlikely to say the least. Then again, Philadelphia’s won 10 out of 16 games since the New Year, including upset wins and close losses to better clubs (Toronto, Houston, Clippers, Charlotte).
Covington, however, remains questionable to play here. If he doesn’t suit up, chances of a Philly upset falls to zero.
Tuesday night’s 108-94 win over OKC snapped a two-game slide for the Spurs, who are still struggling to protect double-digit leads.
They saw what was once an 18-point advantage in the third quarter against the Thunder cut all the way down to three points. Thankfully, San Antonio stayed composed and received a brilliant performance from Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard finished with a game-high 36 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 13-of-26 from the field. He was also aided by LaMarcus Aldridge’s solid night: 25 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Those two are bound to pour in the points again against a Sixers defense that’s given up 113 or more points in its last four games, and one that’s missing its main rim protector in Joel Embiid.
