The Sixers closed out a four-game week bookending a pair of home wins over the Rockets and Bulls with road losses at Utah and Toronto (Tampa Bay?). As of Monday morning, they still maintain pole position in the Eastern Conference at 20-11, but the Brooklyn Nets (20-12) and Milwaukee Bucks (18-13) are nipping at their heels.

Here are some observations from the games:

Monday, 2/15/21: Lost at Utah Jazz 134-123

--It was always going to be tough closing out a four-game road trip in Utah against a Jazz team riding what was at the time a 7-game winning streak. It became ten times more difficult when Joel Embiid missed the game. Ben Simmons did everything he could operating in the point-center role scoring a career high 42 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 12 assists. He received tremendous support from Tobias Harris (36 points), but it's difficult to win when the other 8 men in the rotation combine for 45 points on 44 shots and attempt a total of six free throws.

--Even with Simmons playing, the Sixers' issues with quick and shifty guards continued. Jordan Clarkson cooked everyone thrown his way en route to 40 points on 20 shots and matched his career high with 8 triples. Donovan Mitchell added 24 points of his own.

--Speaking of those eight threes, it's also difficult to win when you allow your opponent to shoot 40% from deep (18-45). Though to be fair, that's what the Jazz do. Utah leads the league in 3-point makes (16.5) and is second in attempts (42.0) per game, and its 39.2% hit rate towers above the NBA average (36.8%).

--Credit where it's due, the Sixers did a nice job on Rudy Gobert. Though the two-time Defensive Player of the Year made 100% of his field goal attempts, he only took three all game. He finished with just 11 points, and more importantly, Philadelphia held him to just 9 rebounds--he averages 13.5, second in the league. The Sixers won the rebounding battle 42-36 overall, all the more impressive considering Embiid was out. In addition to Simmons' 9 boards, Harris had 10 of his own--his fourth double-digit showing on the glass in 6 games to that point--but the bigger story was Dwight Howard. The 35-year-old veteran went for 14 and 12 in 26 minutes off the bench. The Sixers would love more minutes like that.

--On the flip side...Howard was the only second stringer with a pulse. Furkan Korkmaz and Isaiah Joe were scoreless (albeit the latter only saw 2 minutes of court time), and Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle combined for just 11 points. Barring Howard rewinding the clock 7-8 years becoming commonplace--and even during his prime he wasn't exactly a self-sufficient scorer--when Shake Milton misses time, where will this bench turn to for any offense?

--The Sixers actually started this one very strong. Spearheaded by Simmons' 19 points, they led by as many as 14 in the first quarter, and closed it on top 42-35. Trouble is, they were outscored by 18 the rest of the way. A Bojan Bogdanovic layup put the Jazz up 56-55 with 5:10 to go in the first half. The Sixers managed to tie the game up a few possessions later on a Harris bucket, but a pair of Derrick Favors free throws made it 61-59 Utah, and Philly trailed the rest of the game.

Wednesday, 2/17/21: Won v. Houston Rockets 118-113

--This was the first of two consecutive games Simmons missed during the week. Thybulle was the nominal point guard in his stead. Though his offensive contributions were...minimal (5 points and two assists), the sophomore wing continues to be a defensive wunderkind. He racked up 4 steals and a block in this one. On the year, Thybulle is averaging 1.5 steals and .9 blocks in just 18.3 minutes. That is remarkable playmaking on the less glamorous end of the floor.

--The Sixers survived 20 turnovers in this one, largely benefitting from forcing 18 of their own and coming away with 25 fast break points. The giveaways were an anomaly though. Despite still hovering near the top of the league in turnovers (15.6 per game, third) and percentage (13.7%, fourth), they have been improving steadily in that department. They ended the week averaging 12.9 cough ups over their last 15 games. That really speaks to how reckless they were with the rock through their first 16.

--Seth Curry went for 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting, his highest scoring exploit since missing 7 games early in the season. He went 3-for-5 from deep. That's all peachy keen--but I need him to shoot more. The man is a human torch from deep (45.4%). Why is he only taking 4.5 in 29.6 minutes? For reference, Danny Green is bombing away 5.9 times in his 28.5 minutes. Green is an excellent sniper in his own right (38.5%), but how much more dangerous would this offense be if it started two 40ish-percent 3-point shooting wings firing away a half dozen or more times per game?

--Related: the Sixers found nylon on 12 of their 26 3-point attempts (46.2%). I'll take that, obviously. But the Rockets attempted 47 threes. They didn't have nearly the success Philly did (15 makes, 31.9%), but the mere threat of a team willing to shoot so many threes helps open up the offense. The Sixers are now down to 28th in the league in 3-point attempts per game (28.8) and 27th in attempt rate (33.3%).

--Remember when I mentioned Harris had four 10+ rebound games in his last 6 games counting the Jazz game? Well this one made it 5 in 7. The 6'8" forward snagged 15 boards to go along with his 24 points. In his last 16 games (counting the Bulls and Raptors games), Harris is averaging 8.5 rebounds. On the year, he's up to 20.6 points (on a sterling 51.3/40.3/89.4 shooting slash), 7.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He likely likely be overlooked once again for an All-Star selection, but he's certainly playing like one.

--Not to end on a sour note, but the Sixers led by as many as 29 in this one. They refused to deliver the finishing blow and the Rockets had plenty of late life, cutting the lead to 4 in the final minute of play. In what should have been an opportunity to give the main guys some in-game rest, Doc Rivers was forced to play all of his regular starters 36+ minutes (Thybulle played 31). That's no bueno.

Friday, 2/19/21: Won v. Chicago Bulls 112-105

--Of course this section has to start with a blurb about Embiid. The big man snapped for a career high 50 points on just 26 shot attempts, and went 15-for-17 from the line. He also added 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. Talk about stuffing the stat sheet. He's the first Sixer with a 50-point game since a guy named Allen Iverson in 2005, and the first to put together a 50-15-5 line since some dude named Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. Not bad company to keep.

--He was overshadowed by his frontcourt partner, but Harris once again deserves a mention. He came within three assists of a triple-double (22, 12, and 7), and matched Embiid with a team-high +22 point differential.

--More bench struggles without Shake Milton. Despite another solid Howard game (8 point and 10 boards in just 12 minutes), the second unit only supplied 16 points. Korkmaz (2 points in 11 minutes) in particular has been a massive disappointment, and it seems like Rivers is starting to move away from him. More on that a bit later though...

--I touched on Danny Green a bit earlier when discussing 3-point volume, but I just want to show him some love here. He went 4-for-8 from 3, his second straight 4-triple game. He's not what he was during his prime, but he's done exactly what the Sixers have asked of him. He's obviously a quality 3-point shooter, if a bit streaky, but he doesn't need touches hardly at all, he defends well on the wing still, and the intangibles he brings to the table are off the charts. If you throw out his first five games, he's averaging 9.7 points on 40.5% 3-point shooting, which is basically who has been for a decade now. He's also the only Sixer to have started every game for them this year.

--I've ripped this team a few times for their struggles with containing high-scoring guards, but I'll give them some praise here. Zach Lavine is the 6th leading scorer in the league at 28.9 points, and he got 30 in this one, but it wasn't a memorable 30. He went just 9-for-28 from the field including 2-for-10 from 3, and he was a minus-13 in the game.

--Mike Scott in this one...scoreless with a single rebound in 8 minutes. Thaddeus Young in this one...12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 20 minutes. It isn't Scott's fault that he's had a difficult year with recurring injuries, but he has struggled immensely in his court time (3.8 points on 33.3/28.9/66.7 shooting in 16.8 minutes). Young has been a revelation off the bench for Chicago this year (11.5 points, 5.8 boards and 4.3 assists in 25 minutes). I'm not quite sure how the logistics would work (Young makes $13.5M this season and is signed through next year at $14.2M), but the 32-year-old might be an interesting potential trade target to beef up the backup-4 spot. He doesn't do a great job spacing the floor (33.2% for his career on just 1.5 attempts per game), but it's not like Scott was providing any floor-stretching this season anyway. And who wouldn't love to have him back? He was a strong role player in Philly for the first seven seasons of his career.

Sunday, 2/21/21: Lost at Toronto Raptors 110-103

--Remember when I said Doc was moving away from Korkmaz? With Milton's return it was only natural his minutes would get slashed, but seeing Isaiah Joe with 12 minutes and Korkmaz with 2 was pretty damning. I'm all for it. The fourth-year Turkish shooting guard has had a miserable year thus far He missed significant time early in the year with an adductor strain, but similar to Mike Scott, he just has not found a way to contribute even when healthy. Last year, he looked like he was coming into his own when he averaged 9.8 points on 43.0/40.2/75.5 in 21.7 minutes. This season, he's giving the Sixers just 6.9 points on 37.0/30.8/87.5 shooting 18.3 minutes. Meanwhile, Joe hasn't been spectacular himself (4.6 points on 37.3/37.3/100.0 in 12.8 minutes), but his shooting stroke looks promising, and he offers more defensive range and resistance than Korkmaz (admittedly faint praise).

--Drifting away from hammering Korkmaz individually, the bench as a whole was dreadful in this game, even with Milton's return from a 5-game absence with an ankle injury. Sixers reserves were outscored 35-16. Chris Boucher alone outscored the Philly second unit, pouring in 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond. He and Terence Davis, also a bench player, finished tied for a game high +32 point differential. Boucher is exactly the type of bench weapon the Sixers can only wish they rostered. The undrafted big man is just another remarkable success story for Toronto's player development program, the same one that turned fellow undrafted free agent Fred VanVleet--who went for 23-5-9 in the contest--into an $85M man and Pascal Siakam, the 27th pick in the same 2016 draft that produced Ben Simmons, a max-contract player.

--Ben Simmons was the best player on the floor for Philly in this one, and it wasn't close. After missing the previous two games battling an illness, he stormed back with 28 points, 9 boards and 5 assists against only one turnover. He was also second on the team with a +9 point differential. The 6'11" playmaker is making a late charge towards his third consecutive All-Star game. He might fall short, but the Sixers will gladly take this increasingly aggressive version of Simmons--in his last 12 games, he's averaging 19.7 points. And despite still not exactly shooting threes in volume, he deserves credit for his improvement from the free throw line--he's up to 67.1% on the year after a 10-for-14 showing against the Raptors. That is by far a career high, and though still well below average, getting around the 70ish percent area is generally clear of the late game hacking strategy. To that end, he's at 70.2% over his last 18 games.

--The Sixers had a chance to blow the doors off the Raptors early in this one. They built up a 14-point lead just 7 minutes in. Toronto promptly exploded for a 16-0 run over the final three minutes of the frame and took the lead. The Sixers seemed to find their footing in the late 2nd quarter and carried that momentum into the 3rd and again seemed poised to run away with things after taking a 72-59 lead, but again the Raptors clawed back. An anemic final frame (19 points on 23.8% shooting) was the nail in the coffin.

--It was an unsustainable start certainly, and you can't knock the guy for contracting COVID-19, but the Sixers could really use the Seth Curry of the first eight games of the season. That guy averaged 17.0 points on a videogame-like 60.3/59.5/100.0 shooting and scored 20+ 3 times in that span. I thought he might have begun to turn the corner against Houston, but he scored just 21 points total between the Chicago and Toronto games on an abysmal 6-for-23 shooting, and 3-for-12 from beyond the arc. Overall, in 16 games since returning to the starting lineup, he's averaging just 10.9 points on 40.9/36.4/90.3 shooting and has as many scoreless outings as he does 20-point affairs (two apiece).

--I don't like the Toronto Raptors playing home games in Tampa Bay, Florida. I know, I know...Canada is really taking the pandemic seriously, as well they should be. but still it's...weird.

What's next?

The Sixers play the Raptors (16-15) once more in Tampa Bay on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. to complete the miniseries. They then finish up their first half of the season with four straight at home.

On Thursday, they host the Dallas Mavericks (13-15) at 7p.m. Luka Doncic figures to give the Sixers all they can handle. The 21-year-old Slovenian is already a superstar, providing 29.1, 8.6 and 9.4 in the average game.

Then on Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers (10-21) will come to town. The Cavs handed the Sixers their first loss of the season way back on December 26 and turned some heads when they got off to a solid 8-7 start, but it's been all downhill since then as they've come out on top in only 2 of their last 16 games. Even worse, they're currently on a ten-game skid, with all but one of those defeats coming by less than 16 points.