Despite Losing, 76ers Felt Good About Effort vs. Knicks on Friday

The 76ers couldn't celebrate a loss to the Knicks, but they were encouraged by the team's improvement in the effort department.

The start of the 2022-2023 NBA season has been unexpectedly underwhelming for the Philadelphia 76ers. As the team entered the new year as a squad viewed with championship potential, the Sixers’ 1-4 start left many questioning whether they are the real deal or not.

A three-game win streak started to erase some worries as the first five games could be chalked up to a slow start, but the Sixers are back on another multi-game losing streak after falling short to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and the New York Knicks on Friday.

It’s necessary to note that the Sixers have been playing without some key guys. On Wednesday, Joel Embiid and De’Anthony Melton missed the matchup. While the latter guy returned on Friday night to face the Knicks, Embiid remained out while the Sixers lost James Harden as well.

Any team missing its only two All-Stars would face struggles on game night, but the Sixers had issues far before Embiid started battling the flu and Harden suffered a tendon strain. While the Sixers couldn’t sum up their struggles to just one factor, several players pointed to the team’s lack of effort at times as a reason why they’ve failed to find success early on.

Going into Friday’s game against the Knicks, the Sixers were in a situation where some teams might feel deflated since they were missing key players. But Sixers head coach Doc Rivers believed his team would rise to the occasion and play harder with a unique opportunity on the table for some players.

“It’s a competition league, it’s not a given league. When you get a chance, you make the best of it,” Rivers explained before Friday’s game against New York. “Whoever that is, maybe several guys, they make the best of it. I think the player’s job is always to make my job difficult as far as who should play. Coaches love when there are nine guys that just stand out and separate themselves from everybody else. That’s easy, but as I said a week ago, I don’t want any player that doesn’t want to play. You want to make it a competition in the long run that probably makes your team better.”

The Sixers got off to a slow start on Friday. Fortunately, they weren’t alone as the Knicks struggled to capitalize. While the 76ers trailed going into halftime, a dominant third-quarter showing by the shorthanded 76ers gave Philadelphia a chance to form a small comeback and come away with a win.

Unfortunately, the Sixers couldn’t close the game out. As they lacked defensive stops on one end and shot just 27 percent on the other end in the fourth quarter, the Sixers lost Friday’s matchup 106-104. 

“I thought overall, our effort was great tonight,” Rivers said following the loss. “Our execution has to be better. We gotta take care of the ball down the stretch. We had several turnovers down the stretch. Didn’t get out to three-point shooters. Overall, from a coaching standpoint, you love the effort. You’ll take the effort every time.” 

Sixers center Montrezl Harrell entered Philly’s starting lineup for the first time this season on Friday night. As a high-energy player, Harrell looked to lead by example against the Knicks. After the game, he noted that the effort was certainly there from a player’s standpoint.

“I think we did a hell of a job tonight,” said Harrell. “Like I said, it just came down to that fourth quarter where we needed to tone in a little more and get a couple more stops. We get a couple more stops right there, ball bounces our way on a couple of shots, we win the game. Then we’re not having this conversation, and everybody’s talking about how good we played with the adjusted lineups. It’s a learning process, and I think we did a pretty solid job tonight, and you just gotta keep growing from that.”

A loss to the Knicks issued Philadelphia its sixth loss of the season. Now, they are 4-6 going into a tough battle against the Phoenix Suns on Monday. It seems likely the Sixers could get Joel Embiid back in the mix, but his presence won’t solve all of the Sixers’ problems. Not only will the team have to adjust to yet another different set of lineups, but Embiid is battling his way back into shape. 

The effort the Sixers were left satisfied with on Friday against New York will have to be the same on Monday when the Sixers welcome the Suns to South Philly. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.