76ers Still Have to 'Figure It Out' Before NBA Playoffs

The Philadelphia 76ers weren’t the best version of themselves on Sunday night when they visited the Milwaukee Bucks.

While the Bucks’ high-percentage shooting in the first quarter is an issue that not many teams can combat, the Sixers struggled to shift the momentum of the matchup when the Bucks came back down to earth in the following three quarters.

As much as the Sixers have bounced back from big deficits in games this season, there have also been plenty of examples of the Sixers getting dominated from tip-off to the final buzzer-beater. Sunday’s game was an example of the latter situation, considering the Sixers trailed by double-digits all game long before taking on a 13-point loss.

After the game, Sixers forward Tobias Harris made it clear that the Sixers still have some problem-solving to do before the postseason.

“We got to figure it out,” said Tobias Harris, according to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “Four games left. I think the biggest thing is that in midst of all that stuff, we still got to be mentally strong to win a game or at least to just present ourselves that we feel like we win a game. If you just looked at us out there, I’m not watching the game on TV, but I can guarantee you, you saw a team that looked a little defeated out there from time to time in the game. That can’t be us as the playoffs get ready to start.”

The Sixers are approaching their final week of regular season games. While they’ll likely lock up the third seed ahead of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, Sunday’s game against the top-seeded Bucks served as a sample of a potential playoff matchup in the coming weeks.

The Sixers defeated the Bucks two out of four times this year, but the most recent serving surely doesn’t look great for the third-seeded Sixers.

“I think even if a team comes out and makes shots, we still can combat that with getting some good looks out there,” Harris continued. “We’ve shown throughout the year that we can do it. It’s just a matter of being consistent and figuring out how to create the best balance for the whole team to get in a flow out there. Those are things that we have to figure out. We don’t have much time to do it. But when we’re defending and we’re rolling, that’s when we do it the best, but in games where we’re not getting enough stops and teams are making shots, we got to figure out how to do that at a high level.”

The 76ers will have an opportunity to bounce back on Tuesday night when the Boston Celtics pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center. In the first three outings against the Celtics this season, the Sixers struggled to come out on top.

Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Bucks, the Sixers have an opportunity to prove to themselves and everybody else that they can bounce back and pull it together against a championship-caliber squad on Tuesday.

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