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Last week, the Philadelphia 76ers couldn't overcome shorthanded teams. As they paid a visit to the Memphis Grizzlies last Monday, the Sixers failed to rise to the occasion after Joel Embiid and Seth Curry were considered late scratches for the matchup. Therefore, the Sixers took on a blowout loss.

After returning to Philly, the Sixers hosted the undermanned Miami Heat. Although the Sixers got Embiid and Curry back into the mix, the Sixers once again failed to take advantage of their shorthanded opponent and ended up losing to the Heat at home, picking up their second-straight loss.

With barely any rest, the Sixers faced the Brooklyn Nets the next night. Once again, facing a shorthanded opponent, the Sixers struggled. Led by their superstar Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets wouldn't allow the Sixers to come to their house and snag a win, even though the Nets were dealing with a ton of setbacks.

The Sixers had one more opportunity to avoid going winless last week. With a Sunday night game against the New Orleans Pelicans on the schedule, the Sixers wanted to pick up their first win in over a week at that point. However, the NBA pushed the game back as the Sixers were unlikely to field enough players to meet the league's required eight-man minimum.

Therefore, the Sixers didn't take the court again until Monday when they faced the Boston Celtics. Desperate for a win, the Sixers avoided a four-game slump and picked up their 16th victory of the season against the Celtics. 

With two days off, the 76ers will return to the court on Thursday night to face the Atlanta Hawks for the third time this year. Similar to their last few games, the Sixers will face the Hawks as they deal with a long list of setbacks as they've been hit hard by COVID and injuries lately.

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Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.