Well Tuesday didn't go well for the Sixers, and anyone who even mildly keeps track of the NBA could have seen that coming from a mile away. For the Nuggets, it was essentially a glorified off day. The same could be said for the Sixers, but unfortunately it was not for a positive reason LOL.
It was truly a walk in the park for Nikola Jokić, who only needed to play in 25 minutes. He didn't even bother scoring, which is not uncommon for the superstar big man, but this was more apparent than ever on Tuesday as he only scored 8 points but managed to dish out 14 assists. Masterclass stuff by Jokić. Not a single Nugget logged more than 27 minutes. Yikes.
Despite the beatdown, I suppose it was decent for the Sixers from a rest perspective as not a single Sixer logged more than 28 minutes. The bad part for the Sixers was, not a single player scored more than 16 points. Again, yikes.
I don't think I mentioned that Kelly Oubre Jr. is also out once again with an elbow injury. While Kelly is not considered a part of the barely existent 'Big Three' the Sixers supposedly have, he's easily the fourth or fifth most valuable player on the roster. So yeah, the injuries simply never end, especially in the past month and a half or so.
The Sixers somehow are 37-32 despite all of these challenges which is not unimpressive for a lack of a better word. Gotta give credit to head coach Nick Nurse, he's doing his best. The team is within striking distance of the 38-30 sixth seed Orlando Magic but there's only so many games left. The 38-31 Atlanta Hawks are on a tear lately and have won 11 straight! As I've said before, the Hawks own the tiebreaker over the Sixers since they actually swept the Sixers 4-0 in 2025-26. So there's a lot of varying factors down the stretch for the injured, yet somehow still alive Sixers.
The depleted Sixers have shown an ability to beat poor teams in recent games and hopefully they can do so again tonight against the 18 win Sacramento Kings. The Kings aren't a great team, but it will be nice to see veteran stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan play, as who knows how many more years they have left in their pro careers.
Let's see if the Sixers can grab win number 38! Late night games are a nice change of pace!
