To win an NBA championship, a team has to continue fighting through many wars and adversities to reach the top of the mountain. The Philadelphia 76ers are learning this quickly, as they need to dig deep to win a few games this season.
The most recent example came on Sunday when they lost 20 points on the road to the Indiana Pacers and came together to win despite not having the great star Joel Embiid. They got great games from Tobias Harris, as well as great nights from Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey.
This is a moment that the team can take advantage of to move on.
“It’s just resilience for the whole group,” said Harris. “Obviously, with Joel gone, we needed to find a lot of energy from different guys and I thought we had that energy from guys like Matisse, Furk, Tyrese, Dwight (Howard) came in and he was a beast on the boards and being able to control the painting. We know that there will be games in which we don’t have Joel and we have to find out, find a way. “
Games like this will serve them well in the playoffs. The Sixers will have to be able to show that resilience when the time comes and a game like Sunday will be able to help them in the future.
“We are beginning to understand this,” said coach Doc Rivers. “You’ve seen it several times, twists of the fourth period, execution of the fourth period in the course of the games, we have a long way to go, but just to grow for this team in the course of the games, this is where you’re going to win the playoffs and our boys are beginning to believe that they can disrupt games. They can get the shot they want, they can get stops, and when you start feeling that way, you start winning games and we’re starting to do that.
When the playoffs arrive, the Sixers will likely have Embiid out there, but a game like Sunday shows that they can be more than just a big guy if they can get their minds on it.
“Usually, when he doesn’t play, the intensity, the energy drops,” said Dwight Howard. “I think we have shown that we are all capable of doing with Joel on or off the team and I think we have to continue to gain confidence in each other throughout the season knowing that anything can happen. Any of us can be out, but if we play the way we did tonight, then there aren’t many teams that can beat us. “
A victory like Sunday’s also defines culture. This lets them know that they must be able to come together and win at all costs. They have to go out there and hold each other accountable in those situations.
“I thought this was a great game for us to really do that and really look each other in the eye and know that we can hold each other accountable out there,” concluded Harris. “It is just a winning culture that we want to have and, night after night, we have to bring it.”
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