Paul George sums up 76ers' problems, says team doesn't 'have the habits' of playoff contender

The Philadelphia 76ers trailed by as many as 50 points against the Chicago Bulls on Monday at the Wells Fargo Center. Even though Philadelphia ended the game on a 24-6 run in garbage time, the team lost by 32 points. It was the 76ers' eighth consecutive loss and their 10th in 11 games. They are now 20-37, 12th in the Eastern Conference and 2.5 games behind the Bulls for the final play-in spot.

After the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Philadelphia was optimistic about making a late-season run. Team president Daryl Morey said the next day that the Sixers still believed they could win the title. Following the 142-110 loss against Chicago, forward Paul George said they're not playing like they have aspirations of even making playoff push.

"We've shown no sign of a team that will compete," George told reporters. "We just don't have the habits of a champion or a playoff-contending team would have. So, to be honest, right now it's a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going for one another, but we've shown no signs of -- forget championship, but a playoff-contending team here. "

George told reporters Philadelphia needs to be "more dialed in" going forward.

"More effort, more energy and more pride on the defensive end," he said. "And again, just same conversations we've been having. Low communication. It just -- it baffles me just how easy we give up layups. In this league, I don't understand it. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what fell apart to give up 140 points at home against the Chicago Bulls."

The Bulls had lost six straight games before snapping the streak against the Sixers.

"Obviously just the overall vibe was really poor from the start," Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse told reporters. "I think that giving up 39, almost 40 again in the first quarter just kind of set the tone for the game. And there just didn't seem to be a lot of energy or life or vibe tonight for our guys."

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Nurse said the effort was "very disappointing," and he'd told the Sixers postgame that "there's a lot of games left and we've got to be professional."

Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey told reporters, "We all know that was unacceptable [from] all of us tonight." Asked his message for the team, Maxey said, "It's hard right now. It's very difficult. It's hard to see a vision. But we have a lot of games left, a lot of time left with each other, and I think one of the messages that I wanted to give is we all started playing basketball because we love the game and it's fun, and a lot of us should be competitive. So that's how I feel. I play the game because I love it and I play the game because I'm extremely competitive and I like to win and I've got a lot of pride about winning and just putting forth the effort that I put in and that we do is a group. So when we step on the court, we gotta go out there and show that."

The status of franchise player Joel Embiid appears to be hanging over the team. Embiid has appeared in just 19 games this season, primarily because of a left knee injury that required surgery in February 2024. He and the Sixers have been trying to manage the swelling and pain in the knee, but he has twice suggested that he will need to have surgery again, most recently saying that he's not himself and isn't as dominant as he used to be. 

Embiid didn't play against Chicago. Nurse told reporters that he'd undergone tests on Monday and the testing would continue on Tuesday.

"Obviously we're just not handling the situations that are going on with guys in and out," Nurse said. "We've tried to handle it at different times this year and just right now we're not handling it very well."

Asked why the team hasn't simply shut down Embiid for the remainder of the season, Nurse was succinct.

"Just not there yet," Nurse said. "Just not there yet as an organization."