Paul George said the 76ers don’t have the habits of championship team.
PHILADELPHIA — A championship has been out of the 2024-25 Philadelphia 76ers’ reach for some time now. But after their blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls in Joel Embiid’s latest absence, a mere playoff berth seems, in Paul George’s opinion, “far-fetched.”
The Sixers trailed by as much as 50 points in their 142-110 loss to a Bulls team without Nikola Vucevic. It was an embarrassing performance and Philly’s eight-straight loss. George wasn’t afraid to speak out about his team’s lack of a winning attitude.
“Regardless of who’s playing or who’s not playing, to have admirations or for this group to believe that we can be, not even to get to the playoffs, but make a push towards it, we’ve shown no sign of a team that will compete,” George said. “We just don’t have the habits [that] a champion or a playoff-contending team would have. So, to be honest, right now, it’s a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going for one another.”
The 76ers, at 20-37, are still not out of playoff contention. But after losing to the Brooklyn Nets and the Bulls, the two teams above them, the 12th-seeded Sixers are making their path to the play-in tournament harder — and dashing any hopes that they’ll even put up a good fight if they make it there. Embiid being sidelined again to seek new treatments for his knee only adds to the uncertainty and difficulty of a turnaround in the remainder of the season.
“You gotta want to do it. It’s what it comes down to,” George said. “You gotta want to do it. Either you commit to put your body on the line or you don’t.”
George is not alone in feeling frustrated about the state of his team. Nick Nurse urged the team to remain professional and said that they’re struggling to deal with an onslaught of injuries at the moment.