PHILADELPHIA — A championship has been out of the 2024-25 Philadelphia 76ers’ reach for some time now. But after their blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls in Joel Embiid’s latest absence, a mere playoff berth seems, in Paul George’s opinion, “far-fetched.”
The Sixers trailed by as much as 50 points in their 142-110 loss to a Bulls team without Nikola Vucevic. It was an embarrassing performance and Philly’s eight-straight loss. George wasn’t afraid to speak out about his team’s lack of a winning attitude.
“Regardless of who’s playing or who’s not playing, to have admirations or for this group to believe that we can be, not even to get to the playoffs, but make a push towards it, we’ve shown no sign of a team that will compete,” George said. “We just don’t have the habits [that] a champion or a playoff-contending team would have. So, to be honest, right now, it’s a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going for one another.”
The 76ers, at 20-37, are still not out of playoff contention. But after losing to the Brooklyn Nets and the Bulls, the two teams above them, the 12th-seeded Sixers are making their path to the play-in tournament harder — and dashing any hopes that they’ll even put up a good fight if they make it there. Embiid being sidelined again to seek new treatments for his knee only adds to the uncertainty and difficulty of a turnaround in the remainder of the season.
“You gotta want to do it. It’s what it comes down to,” George said. “You gotta want to do it. Either you commit to put your body on the line or you don’t.”
Paul George calls out 76ers’ lack of winning habits
George is not alone in feeling frustrated about the state of his team. Nick Nurse urged the team to remain professional and said that they’re struggling to deal with an onslaught of injuries at the moment.
“The overall vibe was really poor from the start,” the 76ers’ head coach said after the game. “Just didn’t seem to be a lot of energy or life or vibe tonight from our guys.”
Tyrese Maxey called the Sixers’ performance “unacceptable,” blasted their poor defense and agreed with Nurse that they have to remain professional. He’s always one to fight until the end, no matter how miserable the fight is — and the Sixers have been a heck of a punching bag recently.
“Every time I lace my shoes up, I lace my shoes up to win. So that’s just how I feel,” Maxey said. “I’m never going to sit here and lace my shoes up and expect to lose. That’s just not how I’m wired. It’s not how I play basketball, it’s not how I live my life.”
Paul George also pointed to struggles on the defensive end. The Bulls just had to get the ball up the court quickly to find a good shot. Philly’s defense in transition, at the point of attack and at the rim was torn apart easier than a wet paper towel. They scored 75 points in the first half.
“It’s gotta be more dialed in, more effort, more energy and more pride on the defensive end,” George said.
After the trade deadline, Daryl Morey and Josh Harris that the 76ers are still championship hopefuls. They have not won a single game since then. And with the way they’ve played recently, it looks like they won’t for a while.
The post Paul George hits 76ers with harsh reality check amid bleak playoff hopes appeared first on ClutchPoints.
