On Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers lost on the road to the Milwaukee Bucks 117-104.
The Bucks came out hot in the first quarter and scored 41 points.
Undoubtedly, Milwaukee is one of the most dominant teams in the opening minutes.
Philadelphia had no answer for the Bucks firepower as they trailed by double-digits the entire game.
Tyrese Maxey logged the most minutes (35) for the Sixers and was one of the lone bright spots.
Maxey posted 29 points (6-7 3PT & 5-5 FT) and 4 rebounds.
On the other hand, the Bucks completely shut down one of Philly’s stars: James Harden.
Harden scored 11 points (4-9 FG) and 5 turnovers, so it was not a pretty sight to say the least.
One main takeaway is how some of the players reacted to the Bucks taking control of the game immediately.
Embiid and Harden looked a bit sluggish from the start. Hopefully, the dynamic duo is only a bit fatigued and hoping to catch a breath before the playoffs.
But, once the first-round matchup begins they must present themselves differently otherwise the team will certainly not be poised for a deep playoff run.
Following the loss to Milwaukee, Tobias Harris stated, “We got to figure it out. Four games left. I think the biggest thing is that in midst of all that stuff, we still got to be mentally strong to win a game or at least to just present ourselves that we feel like we win a game.”
As it stands today, the Philadelphia 76ers sit in the third seed and are projected to play the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.
One of the biggest concerns is the lack of adjustments by the head coach, Doc Rivers.
He relies too much on Embiid and Harden; once they run out of energy there seems to be no backup plan.
If the bench can contribute and everyone is firing on all cylinders this Sixers squad can be a scary team to face in the East.
Featured Image: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
