Whew. That was a week.

The Sixers had three games against quality opponents, and came out on top in all of them. And I really mean quality. At the Dallas Mavericks...then home tilts against the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers? Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Paul George? That's some serious firepower there. All I have to say is thank goodness for Joel Embiid.

Obviously, the biggest matchup this week came against the Nets, who have been the Sixers' biggest threat in the East all season. The significance of that victory cannot be overstated: the Sixers now own the tiebreaker between the two teams by virtue of their 2-1 season series win. Currently, the standings see Philly at 39-17 holding a 1.5 game lead over the Nets (38-19--thank you for Sunday, Miami), but should any jostling cause the Sixers to slip into a virtual tie with them, they can rest easy. I do wish we could have seen the Nets at full strength (both Kevin Durant and James Harden were out against the Sixers), but I suppose we'll have to wait for the postseason. Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) recent struggles have opened up some breathing room at the top, as they now sit 4 games behind the Sixers.

Now the fun part--talking about wins!

Monday, 4/12/2021: Won at Dallas Mavericks 113-95

--It starts and ends with Joel Embiid. In under 26 minutes, the big man dropped 36 points on just 17 shot attempts. He made a living, as he is wont to do, at the free throw line, missing just one of his 15 attempts. It was just the first performance of what became an explosive week (37.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 90.9% 40-for-44 from the charity stripe). If he seemed a bit rusty coming back from his 3-week absence with the bone bruise, he ramped it up to 11 last week. In this game specifically, the Mavericks threw Maxi Kleber, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Boban Marjanovic (hey Bobi!) at him. It's no wonder he feasted.

--The defense was fantastic on Luka Doncic. Yes, the scoring figure looks gaudy (32 points on just 20 shot attempts), but they neutralized his playmaking and board play (4 each rebounds and assists), and he finished -17 on the night. The Slovenian is still on the short list of guys you'd want to build your dream franchise around tomorrow (somehow he's still only 22), but he hasn't enjoyed playing against the Sixers in his brief career. In four games, he's averaged only 21 points on 37.5/29.2/74.4 shooting, and his 6.0 rebounds are his fewest against any opponent. His 6.0 assists are his fifth fewest. Completely shutting down a superstar is not possible, but if you make him work to get his, you give yourselves a chance, and that's what the Sixers do against Doncic.

--Gotta show some love for Furkan Korkmaz when he's on one of his heaters. Only Embiid outproduced his 20 points for the Sixers, and his four triples led the team. It was his second consecutive 20-point outing. He's in a groove again. For the week, he averaged 15.7 points on 50.0/45.8/66.7, and over his last six games he's been good for 14.8 points on 49.2/43.5/64.3. We all know that the Korkmaz experience would make for a hell of a rollercoaster, but if he can somehow harness this version of himself in even 7 out of every ten games as opposed to basically a 50/50 split, he would be ten times more valuable. No NBA player is going to be Hall of Famer every night, and bench scorers are practically by definition more volatile than starters, but the best ones (think Lou Williams) still feel threatening even on their off games. Korkmaz is either on fire, or borderline unplayable.

--Curiously, the Sixers did not have a good game on the glass. Nobody grabbed in more than 7 rebounds (Embiid and Dwight Howard off the pine)as a whole they lost the battle of the boards 46-40. But they competed inside when it mattered, winning points in the paint 46-44 and second chance points 15-11. Still, it was an odd result for a team that usually does well in the rebounding department (51.8 total rebound percentage, fifth in the league) against an opponent thoroughly mediocre in that regard (49.5%, 16th).

--This was finally mercifully the last game in a brutal road stretch for the Sixers--ten out of 12 away from home. The rest of the season, they'll enjoy the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center for all but 7 contests.

Wednesday, 4/14/2021: Won v. Brooklyn Nets 123-117

--This was yet another name that got a lot more close for comfort than it needed to--the Sixers built up a 22-point lead about four minutes into the final frame, only to allow the Nets to close the gap to 3 with just over a minute left. Yes, a win is a win is a win and all that, and that rings louder here than most given the high stakes. But you play with fire too much, and you will get burned. Especially against an opponent like this.

--On that note, Kyrie Irving is an extraordinary talent. The number of circus shots he gets per game has to triple anyone else in the game, and his handles break my neck sitting at home on my living room couch. Elsewhere, his passing is much better than it used to be. He came into the league as a true score-first guard, and he remains that, but his apce and manipulation of defenses and awareness of his teammates is vastly improved. He was on one in this game (37 points on just 22 shots couple with nine assists). Again, you take the win, but imaging him going nuclear like that alongside Durant and Harden come playoff time is utterly frightening.

--This game was won and lost from beyond the arc. The Sixers hit on theirs (13-for-28, 46.4%) and the Nets gained honorary membership in the bricklayers' union (4-for-21). Defense was otherwise optional all game (Philly shot 51.7% from the field, Brooklyn 51.8). That is a a dangerous strategy against the Nets in the future. Again, obviously one expects Durant and Harden to suit up come playoff time (though both are battling troubling lower body injuries), but even failing that, guys like Joe Harris and Landry Shamet won't shoot 14.3% from deep in most games. As a team, they have the highest effective field goal and true shooting percentages in the league (57.6% and 61.0%, respectively) as well as the second highest offensive rating (118.3) despite the inconsistent availability of their stars.

--I realize I haven't been very positive in this section despite the good guys winning. Since I praised Embiid's weeklong brilliance already (only 39 and 13 here, yawn), I'll go with another core member of the team--Tobias Harris. Dude had it working tonight. 26 points on just 17 field goal attempts? That's what I want out of my second scorer. He also played some strong defense, picking up a steal and a couple of blocks. He even led all starters with a +6 point differential (Mike Scott had a team-high +7)He's been in a bit up and down lately (in his last 8 games, four have seen him score 12 points or less, and the other four 21 or more), possibly due to a lingering knee issue. To that end, he missed the next game against LA. But if he saves his best self for big games like this, then carefully managing him ahead of the playoffs isn't a terrible idea.

--Dwight Howard sat out this one. I never thought I'd say this, but man, was he missed inside. I touched on the curiosity of the Sixers dropping the rebound war to the Mavericks? Well they got owned here, 43-32, and that's WITH the 13 Embiid boards. Only Harris even had 5 otherwise. I'm not gonna sound any alarms because I know how good of a glass cleaner this team is, but it's still disconcerting, at least.

Friday, 4/16/2021: Won v. Los Angeles Clippers 106-103

--This was the Sixers' most impressive victory of the week. Yes, the Clippers were without Patrick Beverly, Serge Ibaka, and Kawhi Leonard, but Philly was down Seth Curry, Harris, and Howard, so it was a wash. Combine that with an absolutely locked-in Paul George (37 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, two blocks and a steal), and this makes my short list of best wins on the season. Racing out to 20-3 lead (???) helped, but they had to withstand the predictable rally that even saw LA pull ahead by 2 late in the fourth. This game had it all, and the Sixers answered every bell.

--I've made it this far without mentioning Ben Simmons. Part of that is my frustration with him (just 12.3 points for the week, and he butchered his free throw attempts going 9-for-19), an part of that is because he did most of his work on defense, so his lack of box score production was slightly misleading. But he had a strong all around game here with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and two blocks and steals apiece. He was also second on the team in point differential with a +9 (Scott again snuck in for a +10). I'm not gonna be over the scoring struggles any time soon, but if he's having a global impact in games like this, then I can accept that.

--I've also made it this far without showing Danny Green love. He had a quiet week, struggling a bit from the field (8.0 points on 36.8/35.3/100.0), but that did nothing to dampen his defense and general hustle. He was all over the place, forcing turnovers (four steals), blocking shots (2), crashing the glass (seven boards) and moving the ball effectively (3 assists without a turnover). And the shots he did make for his 11 points all felt substantial in the moment, as many of his makes in his career have tended to. I must once again point out that Green's performance this season has been unimpeachable.

--Not...the best game for the bench. Depleting it's depth certainly didn't help--no Howard again, Korkmaz and Scott moved into the starting group--but 23 points isn't helping anything. Shake Milton matched his point total with his combined personal fouls and turnovers (9), the Sixers lost Matisse Thybulle's minutes by a game-worst 12 points, and Anthony Tolliver was scoreless in his 14-minute debut for the team. It was nice seeing Tyrese Maxey contribute a tidy 9 points in 15 minutes and make a 3, though.

--This game in away was the opposite of the Nets game. The Sixers survived a barrage of Clipper threes (19-for-39, 48.7%), while having a mediocre shooting night themselves (14-for-44, 31.8%). However, they more than doubled the Clippers' production from the free throw line (22-for-30 against 10-for-16), forced 19 turnovers into 21 points, and won all the easy point battles (13-4 fastbreak, 21-6 second chance, 34-28 in the paint). They also finally won the rebound battle, 46-43. It was a game were hustle plays were the deciding factor, and Philly made them when they had to.

What's Next?

Boy, the NBA schedulers weren't messing around. On Monday night, they'll play host to the Golden State Warriors (28-29) at 7:30 p.m. The Phoenix Suns (40-16) come to town on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Then, the boys will fly to Milwaukee for a big time miniseries with the Bucks beginning Thursday night at 7 p.m. and concluding with a matinee Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

One look at the records tells you the Warriors clearly aren't who they once were. They said goodbye to Durant two offseasons ago, Klay Thompson is missing his second consecutive season with a major leg injury, and Draymond Green isn't what he was. But Stephen Curry is still on the team, and he is on an entirely different plane of existence right now--over his last 10 games, he's averaging 39.1 points on 54.6/48.6/90.1 shooting. Those are real, actual numbers, people. He is keeping the Warriors relevant in playoff contention by sheer force of will. Don't be surprised if he goes supernova Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Suns should consider changing their name to Supernova. They currently hold the second best record in the NBA, and they have been dangerously hot over the past two and a half months--after starting the year 11-9, they've won 29 of their last 36. Chris Paul has once again transformed a roster seemingly overnight, and shows no signs of slowing down just over two weeks shy of his 36th birthday. He's giving Phoenix 15.6 points on 48.4/36.2/93.1 to go along with 8.7 assists against 2.1 turnovers. With Devin Booker starring with him in the backcourt (25.5 points per game), this is exactly the type of offense the Sixers tend to struggle with.

Last but certainly not least, despite a 4-game cushion over them, you'd love to see Philly sweep the Bucks. Milwaukee has been oddly inconsistent this year after thoroughly laying waste to regular season competition over the past two years. But that could be deceptive--they actually own a higher net rating than the Sixers (+6.1 to +5.3), and after missing six games with injury, Giannis Antentokounmpo is back in the lineup. The reigning 2-time MVP is having perhaps the best under-the-radar season in recent memory, good for 28.4/11.2/6.1 per night. Perhaps that's because of their back-to-back playoff disappointments. Playing for something to prove, the Sixers will have to bring their A-game.