The Philadelphia 76ers lost their third straight game on Tuesday and six of their last nine overall. With Joel Embiid out due to knee soreness, the Sixers were outclassed by the Indiana Pacers, 97-115, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on New Year's Eve. Shortly after the game, starting shooting guard Josh Richardson and forward Tobias Harris aired their frustrations concerning the Sixers struggles, via NBC Sports Philadelphia's Kurt Helin.
Without naming names, the 26-year-old Three-and-D specialist said veterans need to do a better job of holding some of the guys accountable.
“I don’t think that there’s enough accountability in the locker room right now, honestly,” he shared. “I think we got some new guys who don’t want to step on toes — including myself. I feel like we just kind of go play and don’t compete as much. There have been games where we have and it’s been great, but when it’s not going good we got to hold each other accountable, so I think that’s where a lot of our problems start.”
The Sixers' Tobias Harris, meanwhile, also shared a similar sentiment.
“In all honesty, I think what we have to do is look one another in the eye, look ourselves in the mirror and kind of evaluate and take ownership on our own individual play,” he said. “And then figure out where individually we can be better, 1-on-1, as a man, and come to the table to try to mesh that together as a team. It’s easy to say, ‘Hey, we didn’t play defense’ or ‘We didn’t get out in transition.’ It’s easy to say that but it’s hard to say, ‘I didn’t bring enough energy for the group tonight. I need to do a better job — me, myself, personally — when we’re in these type of ruts, picking us up and doing the utmost to figure out how we can get up out of a deep run like they had today.”
After getting some much-needed playoff experience last season and picking several notable players in Al Horford and Josh Richardson in the offseason, the Sixers were primed as favorites to rule the Eastern Conference this year. But it hasn't been smooth sailing for the Brett Brown-mentored squad particularly to close out 2019.
The Sixers are currently outside the top 4 in the East, currently ranked sixth with a 23-13 record. The team still has plenty of time to get their act together and fix whatever turmoil they have inside the locker room.
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