The Sixers secured a closely contested victory over the Jazz on Wednesday and boy they needed it. The Sixers didn't have Joel Embiid, which is no surprise, but they also were without V.J. Edgecombe AND Kelly Oubre Jr. The Jazz are a poor team but that's still a lot of talent not on the floor, so I am pleased they got it done! Tyrese Maxey was good as usual, but also Jabari Walker had an awesome game as well. Walker had 22 points, was 4-7 from three-point range, and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Sixers avoided starting another lengthy losing streak and somehow they STILL hold the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. I'm actually really proud of them!
Joel Embiid's injury/availability status remains uncertain as ever and I'm just emotionally over it now. The Sixers are a lot better with him but it doesn't matter if he's not on the court. I am just hoping he can play during the playoffs, and Paul George will be back soon enough as well. George is eligible to return March 25th.
I'm just embracing the Sixers' underdog vibes at this point. Maxey and Edgecombe can cook at the guard position, and their overall respectable depth throughout the roster will hopefully continue to compete to the best of their abilities.
There's a fair chance V.J. Edgecombe won't be returning tonight due to a back injury, but at least Kelly Oubre Jr. should be back after dealing with an illness.
Tonight the Sixers face the Hawks and man, the Hawks just have the Sixers' number it seems. A win over the Hawks would be massively beneficial to keep their sixth seed and keep the Hawks at bay in the extremely tight Eastern Conference. In addition, the Hawks own the tiebreaker over the Sixers after going 3-0 in the season series. So there's a ton of reason to have some urgency tonight. A win over the Hawks would also just feel good, to simply avoid going 0-4 against them. The Sixers are currently 34-28, the Hawks are currently 32-31. Yikes.
But yeah, these days everyone is caught up in purely seeking a championship, or 'should we tank?' modes. Obviously this makes sense to an extent but, there is something nice about just being a solid team. Once you get to the dance, go from there I guess. Enjoy the moment, be gamers, have some pride.
A Sixers win tonight would be wonderful.
