Philadelphia 76ers: The rest of January could help to define the season

So far, things have not been going well for the Philadelphia 76ers, but after a win against the Brooklyn Nets, they look to get back on track.

The Philadelphia 76ers are not having the season that they expected to have. At this point, they are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The season started out as they hoped as they won their first five games. It looked like their moves really worked out for them.

Recently, their fortunes have changed, and they haven’t been doing so hot. In their last 10 games, they are 4-6. They haven’t been able to win consistently.

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The schedule may change their fortunes though, as they have a favorable schedule coming up in the rest of the month. Besides two tough games against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, and Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 25, they have to face the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Atlanta Hawks.

That group of teams have a combined record of 62-144. Also, none of those teams are over .500. Philadelphia has a chance to get hot and go on a winning streak so they can move up in the standings.

The Sixers started the season as one of the favorites to win the East, but now, as the six seed if the playoffs started now, they wouldn’t even have home court advantage in the first round.

Not having their best player in Joel Embiid doesn’t help. He is out with a dislocated finger. Embiid is the leading scorer. He gives life to the team on both ends of the floor. It’s crucial that they get him back.

While the Sixers have an easy schedule coming up for the rest of the month, it would still help to have him back. They are only 2-2 ever since he has been out. The Sixers need certain players to step up for them going forward.

Tobias Harris is the first one. Harris will have to come up big for them in the next upcoming games. Against Brooklyn, he had a monster game. It was the type of game that he needs to have more often.

He scored 34 points and 10 rebounds. In the NBA, it is necessary to have a good wing player to take you over the top. Recent history has proven that championships are won with great small forwards. The last eight Finals MVPs have played that position. With this said Harris is the most important player down the stretch for the Sixers.

Ben Simmons is next. He can be a headache for teams with his ability to create plays, get easy baskets and play defense. His stat line of 15.3 points per game, 8.4 assists per game and 7.6 rebounds per game are ludicrous but the Sixers will need more from him with Embiid out.

These next upcoming games are crucial for the Sixers. They have to win these games because the opponents are easy. Simmons will need to look to play like the first overall pick that was drafted in 2016 the rest of the month. With Embiid’s scoring not there Simmons will look to have to score more because of the lack of options.

The Philadelphia 76ers are on the low-end of the playoff standings, but they should be able to get back on track at the end of this month.