Philadelphia 76ers Star’s Alarming Assessment After Loss vs Nets

Tyrese Maxey discussed what went wrong for the 76ers on Saturday against the Nets.

Feb 20, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and guard Tyrese Maxey (0) talk in the final minute of the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Considering where the Philadelphia 76ers stand in the Eastern Conference, there aren’t many nights they face teams below them. Heading into Saturday’s action against the Brooklyn Nets, it was one of those rare occasions. As expected, the Sixers were favored to erase their losing streak.

Once again, Brooklyn proved that the rankings won’t make a difference. If the Sixers don’t come out firing against a rebuilding Nets team, they will fall flat. They landed that reality check early on in Saturday’s action, and Tyrese Maxey’s assessment of the way the Sixers started is certainly alarming.

“They played way harder than we did early on,” Maxey admitted to reporters. “I guess we think we can ease our way into games. Obviously, we’ve shown it, but that’s not going to help us in the long run, that’s not going to help us in our current position as well.”

Feb 22, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives for a shot against the Brooklyn Nets during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Defensively, the Sixers gave up 40 points in the opening quarter. Brooklyn shot 75 percent from the field, with most of their production coming from twos. The Sixers managed to hold the Nets to under 35 percent from the field during the second quarter, but they were still outscored.

By halftime, the Sixers trailed 63-52. They needed a big second half in order to claw their way out of a 17-point deficit. During the second half, the Sixers got themselves in a position where they came back and actually took multiple leads.

It seemed the matchup was headed into overtime before the Nets won the game on a last-second tip-in. Typically, losing in that fashion after forming a near-comeback could offer moral victories. In this case, it was just another matchup leaving a sour taste in the Sixers’ mouths.

“We tried to ease our way into the game and got hit in the mouth,” Maxey added. “We responded, but it was kind of like, you can’t cheat the game, can’t start off like that, then play the right way and expect to win.”

The Sixers dropped their seventh game in a row. They are 20-36 on the season and have been jumped by the Nets in the standings. When the Sixers host the Chicago Bulls on Monday, they’ll enter the matchup as the 12th seed. They only rank higher than the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, and the Washington Wizards.

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