"We're not playing good defense, and that's a recipe for disaster" - Joel Embiid on the Philadelphia 76ers' bad start to the season
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a bad start to the season, and Joel Embiid thinks that it's because of their bad defense. The Sixers have only one win in their first five games. They made some moves in the offseason to contend for a championship.
In an interview following their 119-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Embiid expressed his disappointment. He's not worried about their offense because they have a lot of firepower. He wants their defense to improve because it makes their offense much better.
"Our offense is going to be fine as long as we get stops," Embiid said. "We're not getting stops, we're not playing good defense, and that’s a recipe for disaster. We need to be better on that end."
The Philadelphia 76ers added P.J. Tucker and Danuel House in free agency to improve their depth. James Harden made it all possible by taking a discount, but the Sixers are struggling. They put up a fight on Opening Night against the Boston Celtics, but came up short 126-117.
The Sixers went toe-to-toe with the Milwaukee Bucks in an ugly game, but lost 90-88. Things went from bad to worse after losing 114-105 to the San Antonio Spurs in their third game of the season. The Spurs were projected to be one of the worst teams in the league in the preseason.
Joel Embiid and company finally got their first win of the season on Monday by defeating the Indiana Pacers 120-106, another rebuilding team. However, they were back to their losing ways on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst believes that the Sixers are the most disappointing team of the season so far. Windhorst pointed out how James Harden and Tyrese Maxey played poorly on defense despite scoring 18 and 31 points, respectively.
"When you watch them, Maxey just gets eaten alive on the perimeter," Windhorst said. "Harden gets eaten alive on the perimeter. Last night, Maxey scored 31 points, but when they're getting eaten up like that on defense, it's hard to feel like he had a good night."
Joel Embiid says he challenges the #Sixers defensively moving forward.
"Our offense is going to be fine as long as we get stops. We’re not getting stops, we’re not playing good defense, and that’s a recipe for disaster. We need to be better on that end."
Will the Philadelphia 76ers fire Doc Rivers?
As the losses start piling up for the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Doc Rivers could be in the hot seat. Rivers is in third season as the Sixers' coach, but they are off to a terrible start. After the moves they made this summer, it's hard not to see them as contenders.
Rivers is the favorite to get fired first this season, per Reuters (h/t Inquirer). He's ahead of Steve Nash of the Brooklyn Nets, Dwane Casey of the Detroit Pistons, Darvin Ham of the LA Lakers and Stephen Silas of the Houston Rockets.
The Nets are off to a 1-4 start like the Sixers, while the Pistons might look for a different coach to continue the development of their young stars. The Lakers are still winless, while Silas is in the same boat as Casey.