The Philadelphia 76ers have had their chemistry, focus, and identity tested through the first half of the season after acquiring Jimmy Butler. Yet center Joel Embiid believes the following wave of 13 games will shape the outlook of the rest of their 2018-19 season.
“I'm excited,” Embiid said after escaping an encounter with the New York Knicks on Sunday with a 108-105 win, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “We're going to see how good we are and how good we can become — or how bad we are.
“I think the next three weeks are really going to shape our season… It will be exciting. It will be a good test.”
The Sixers will go through the wringer in the next 13 games, facing 12 teams with a .500 record or above (a combined .600 record between them) while playing on national television in 11 of them.
Philly has won five of its last seven games but failed to beat the Washington Wizards on the road (haven't done so since Nov. 2013) and the lowly Atlanta Hawks — two losses that can be attributed to lack of effort and concentration.
Compounding it all is the definition of players' roles, as Butler approached head coach Brett Brown in hopes to garner more pick-and-roll plays in the near future after sacrificing much of his game to fit into his formula.
Brown thinks the Sixers' level will rise with the competition, hoping his players will respond to the challenge at hand.
“I think the level rises,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “I think our talent rises, and I look forward to playing some of the elite.”
The Sixers' next month will see them play a murderers' row of opponents, including crucial games against conference leaders like the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors on the road and taking on the Toronto Raptors and a familiar rival on the Boston Celtics at home during the next 28 days.
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