Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown hasn't been convinced with his team's performance as of late, netting single-digit wins over the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, who are outside of playoff contention.
Throughout the last six games, the Sixers have beaten the Nets twice as well as the Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, teams they should beat. However, they have fallen to their most-likely competition, the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat, two teams that are also battling for the highest possible seed in the East.
“We [had] a meeting today. Coach was talking about we have to be more of a playoff mind, more ready to play playoff defense,” forward Dario Saric said after Monday’s shootaround, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brown's words could prove to resonate if they put the short-handed Hornets away tonight in ruthless fashion.
Article Continues Below“You can see in the last two games against New York and Brooklyn, it wasn’t us,” Saric said.
The Sixers are one game behind the fifth-place Indiana Pacers while they enjoy a 1.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in what's been a see-saw battle from spots three to eight since after the All-Star break.
“Every game is important,” Saric said, with the Sixers having 14 games remaining on the schedule. “Coaches have a made point [of telling us], put everything on the court.”