Entering this season, expectations on the Philadelphia 76ers quickly grew, especially after the addition of this year’s top overall pick Markelle Fultz, and with Ben Simmons finally scheduled to make his debut for the team. It also added to the hype surrounding them that Joel Embiid, Robert Covington, and Dario Saric, among others, were all impressive last year, giving their fans a lot of reason to be optimistic about their future.

While Fultz has been sidelined by a shoulder injury, the Sixers were still able to have a decent start, currently owning a 6-6 record which is good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Although it's still early days in the season, their players are now beginning to believe that the playoffs is something attainable. Some of them talked about that possibility, like Joel Embiid, who understands that they should keep on improving, via Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.

“We just have to do a better job,” Embiid said. “With the expectations out there, I don’t like using the excuse that we’re young, and I’m never going to use that.

“We’ve just got to do a better job of winning the games we are supposed to.”

Ben Simmons on the other hand thinks otherwise, as for him, not a lot of people thought of them being capable of having a strong start to the season, but also acknowledged that getting better each game should be their priority.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to come out like this, and have a strong start like this, but that’s what we expect,” Simmons said. “We come in every day trying to get better and win. That’s our goal.

“We should win games like that.”

Head coach Brett Brown used the Sixers' loss on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings as an example of games they should've won, as he believes there no one else to blame but them for not ending up victorious on the night.

“The bar is set a little bit higher,” Brown said. “The expectations are a little bit higher.

“I want to own it. With Joel [Embiid] healthy, I think we should. That’s what I’m trying to do. You can’t poke yourself in the eye. Those games haunt you. And, for all those reasons, I have the reaction that I had last night that, as you accurately say, has been different in previous years.”

The Sixers are in the midst of a five-game road trip, and have lost back-to-back games, after winning the first one of the stretch. They will look to get back on the winning track on Monday, when they face the Utah Jazz. Should they win, they would once again be over .500, which would give their players more confidence for their upcoming games.