Feb 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) looks on during the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- It's all so simple yet very complicated for the Sixers right now.
The simplicity of the problems -- and yes there are problems as they've lost three in a row now after Thursday's 117-107 setback to the visiting Atlanta Hawks -- start and end with the unavailability of Joel Embiid.
The team fell to 11-13 without him this year with the latest loss, and the search for how to cope without him becomes more and more puzzling because, quite frankly, the pieces don't really fit where they're needed.
It hasn't been a secret as to how teams defend the Sixers when Embiid isn't in the lineup. They jump at Tyrese Maxey every time he has the ball. If he brings it over halfcourt, two defenders go at him. If he tries to run a high pick-and-roll with a teammate, the opposition jumps him out of the pick, disregarding the pick setter. And when the Sixers run four flat (on the baseline) when Maxey has the ball up high, a teammate will, for some reason, come up to set a pick for him, which makes double-teaming so much easier.
Double-teaming in the NBA is nothing new, but rarely do you see it done with the obviousness that opponents do it to the Sixers. Why? Because they can.
Defense to Offense with JJ & DD ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/MjLF0sdycP
As good of a rookie season VJ Edgecombe has had, it is really just unfair to ask him to carry an offensive load when Maxey is doubled. Sure, he can deliver at times, but that is a tough ask for a player who is going to play almost three times the amount of games in a season than he has ever played before.
Kelly Oubre, Jr. can certainly score the ball, but he is one who benefits more when he is a secondary scorer, not someone who has to deliver the scoring punch. There is no Paul George to help until March 25.
The backup center position is still a work in progress and the fifth starter is Dominick Barlow, who was on a two-way contract until recently. And it's just not reasonable to expect offensive help in the manner that is needed from the likes of others who are logging more than anticipated minutes.
There is a song from way back that says: 'Poor men want to be rich, rich men want to be king and the king ain't satisfied till he rules everything.' While that alludes to people's desire to up their social status, it kind of relates to the Sixers in that many are being asked to be more than what they actually can be.
That isn't a knock to the talent. It is more a statement of where the roster is without Embiid and George in the lineup.
𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐬 𝟏𝟏𝟕, 𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟏𝟎𝟕
“We miss Joel. It’s that simple. He’s a walking 30 points.” -VJ Edgecombe pic.twitter.com/g3leGqzxQ3
"We miss Joel. Just being honest, we miss Joel," said Edgecombe after his 20-point, nine-rebound, six-turnover night. "He's a walking 30 points. We miss Joel. He's a big presence, he requires so much gravity. So now all the attention is on Tyrese. We've got to make his job easier. When he's on the floor, he's the best player on the floor. Him and Tyrese, they are the best players on the floor every given night."
But it's almost an impossible task for Maxey when he is getting the attention he does when Embiid is out. And then Edgecombe is expected to give more than anyone thought possible from him as a rookie, and so on and so forth.
Simply, some starters should be subs, some subs should be down deeper on the bench and other contributors probably wouldn't be seeing much of the floor if the team was at full health.
"The offense was pretty tough all night," said Nick Nurse following the loss to the Hawks, a statement he can make most nights without Embiid. "The spacing gets a little tough out there and just our flow and being able to create just wasn't great. I felt like we were out of sync a lot. I didn't like our transition offense. We had tons of times we were getting up the floor with some advantages and not getting anything and having to pull back out and (it was) disorganized. It didn't feel like we were creating a lot of offense for each other tonight.
"The assist numbers were really low (17 on 33 made field goals) and Cam Payne has five of them in 10 minutes. He was moving the ball, getting some shot creation for some guys, but we weren't able to find open areas and make the next play. And usually the next play after was there for a few more kickouts and kickouts and swings. (We) had a couple in the first half. We really wanted to stress that in the second, we just couldn't find them."
Payne has been with the team all of a couple days. It is evidence of how disjointed the team is without its leading player.
"The doctors [didn't] want him playing (Thursday)," said Nurse. "The plan is to get him on the court (Friday) and see how he is and just go from there. I don't anticipate it being a long time. I'm pretty optimistic about it. But see what they come up with and see where it ends up."
Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers are 1-7 in their last eight games without Joel Embiid dating back to late December.
Earlier in the season, the 76ers were finding ways to win when Joel didn’t play.
Tyrese weighed in on this topic after their 117-107 loss to Atlanta.@KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/ZTHlDK9wVP
Reality is just that, and it doesn't appear right now that it is going to end up well if Embiid isn't in the lineup for much of the rest of the season. The right knee, that has been troublesome for Embiid all season, appears to be okay, according to Nurse, but it was shin pain that sidelined him this time.
"We're playing multiple styles of basketball. It's weird," said Maxey, who finished with 28 points on 8-for-23 shooting. "I've had a successful year but I've played three different roles. But that comes with it sometimes. That's not an excuse you can use. You've got to go out there with what we have out there and try to win games."
Right now, going out there with what they have, just isn't enough. Not without Embiid and George. And not with having to ask players to do way more than they should be asked to do.
