After another exciting comeback victorythis time in overtime, the Philadelphia 76ers have now won four straight to remain undefeated. Despite a no-light shooting night from the hosts, the Washington Wizards, the visitors held on in the final frame before imposing their will on both sides during the rubber period.
As expected, Tyrese Maxey once again led the way for the 76ers in scoring, finishing the night with a game-high 39 points to go along with 10 assists. Joel Embiid, who was sidelined in their previous game against Orlando due to injury management, scored 25 points in just 23 minutes, while Quentin Grimes added 23 markers off the bench to lead the second unit.
However, it was Adem Bona who gave the 76ers the energy needed to dismantle the Wizards piece by piece. He hit four shots in the fourth quarter and another in overtime, rebounding after subpar performances in his previous outings.
Of course a 4-0 start is always good. Only two other teams currently have a record as good or better than theirs (San Antonio and Oklahoma City), and the 76ers still have a lot of room to improve with their injured players still sidelined.
The 76ers play the kind of basketball that works in the playoffs
No one seems comfortable considering the 76ers as definitive title contenders, which is probably justified given how young we all are in the season. That said, this team has all the tools needed to be a successful playoff team and perhaps even go all the way.
Health permitting, Philadelphia has a well-rounded group. They have top scorers in the backcourt in Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jared McCain, a reliable off-ball threat who can become his own in Quentin Grimes, and forwards who can score and defend in Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Additionally, the 76ers have great role players who should remain effective as long as they aren’t shoehorned into roles that are too lofty for them. That would obviously assume good health, which is probably the biggest red flag for this group.
However, that form is exactly what the two teams that reached the finals last season had for the most part, although defense is something the 76ers still need a lot of work on.
But ultimately, as long as the injury bug is kept at bay, it’s hard to imagine this Philadelphia 76ers team getting out of the playoffs early. At their best, they are capable of reaching the biggest stage, provided the basketball gods don’t trick them again with an accidental curveball.
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