The Philadelphia 76ers are barely hanging onto their spot in the Eastern Conference. With only a handful of games remaining in the season, their four-game road trip could determine whether they automatically book their playoff spot or duke it out in the play-in tournament.
Their trip started on the wrong foot after losing to the Phoenix Suns, 115-102. Fans will be hoping that this game won’t be a sign of things to come for the Sixers as they move on to Los Angeles to play the Lakers and Clippers.
What Philadelphia 76ers fans could pick up from their loss to the Suns
Tyrese Maxey will determine whether they win or lose games
Tyrese Maxey is still trying to come to terms with being the top-scoring option for Philadelphia, and his poor shooting night against Phoenix was to be expected.
However, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Noah Levick argued that Maxey should get used to the pressures that come with being the lead scorer in a playoff team:
Regardless of the fatigue factor, being an efficient No. 1 option game after game is awfully hard to pull off for a young guard who’s still regularly frustrated that he doesn’t get more foul calls. Maxey had zero free-throw attempts in a game Wednesday for the third time this season.
Rebounding will be key to beating teams on this road trip
The Phoenix Suns had cold shooting nights for most of their players, but they managed to cover up these mistakes by being relentless on the glass. If the Philadelphia 76ers want to succeed, they must get every board they can.
The Suns got 15 more boards than the Sixers, which impacted the visitors’ ability to control the pace of the game. With Joel Embiid still out of the roster, it’s up to the rest of the team to pick up the slack and box their opponents out.
Will the Philadelphia 76ers win the rest of their road-trip games?
The Sixers will be facing tough opposition on this trip. Aside from the two Los Angeles teams, they will have to face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves before they head home.
The team must improve on their performances if they want to secure an automatic playoff berth in the next three games.
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