Joel Embiid is Beginning to Lose His Spirit After Fourth-Straight Defeat

Not too long ago, losing four-straight games for the Philadelphia 76ers would be the norm. However, in 2019-2020, so many consecutive losses are foreign to the team. The last time the Sixers dropped four games in a row was back during the 2017 season.

This past Friday night, though, the Sixers fell to the Houston Rockets, losing by a ten-point margin, notching the fourth-straight loss on a tough four-game road stint. Before the difficult stretch of games had even begun, the Sixers knew they were headed into a grueling battle. And coming out of it even at 2-2 would've still been impressive.

But once the Sixers lost to an inferior opponent such as the Orlando Magic, to kick the road trip off, it was evident that things could go south for Philly really quickly. That's exactly what happened. And now, the Sixers' most dominant piece, Joel Embiid, is beginning to feel the struggles take a toll on him.

Despite missing one of the four games, Embiid was still a witness of the Sixers' blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers on New Year's eve. Though he would've given his team a boost that dreadful afternoon, there's still no telling whether Embiid would've made a difference in the final results or not had he played.

The Sixers understood that their team had to do some soul searching and re-group for Friday's showdown with the Houston Rockets. So a productive practice on Thursday seemed to have lifted everybody's spirit for a day.

After losing 118-108 to a tough Rockets team on Friday night though, Embiid wasn't feeling good vibes from the results. Sure, anybody is going to be upset with losing -- especially when the loss counts as number four in a row. However, the big man didn't just see another tally added to the loss column. He saw a team that truly isn't improving.

"Losing four in a row sucks," Embiid said following Friday night's game. "It doesn't feel like we're getting better. So it's frustrating. I care about winning. It's taking a toll on me. It sucks. . . I guess we've got to keep fighting."

After picking up their tenth loss of the year, the Sixers remain in sixth place within the Eastern Conference. The good news is, those who are ahead aren't running away with the top seeds. The Sixers could quickly go on a winning streak and climb back up in the ranks just as fast as they fell down over the last four matchups.

While the Sixers haven't reached expectations so far this season, it isn't time for their locker room to start calling it quits. There's still plenty of basketball left to be played this season. Now, the team will look to take advantage of returning home on Monday, where they undoubtedly play their best ball. And soon enough, we'll see how resilient the 2020 76ers are.