The Philadelphia 76ers will try to bounce back from a disappointing start to their three-game homestand by hosting the last-place Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Philadelphia returned home after a successful, six-game stretch in which the Sixers won four, starting with the first three in Boston, Utah and Portland. Those three wins combined with a home loss to San Antonio and a back-to-back win against Charlotte had Philadelphia closing out December on a high note.
Since the calendar turned to 2025, however, the Sixers have dropped three of four games, including a 109-99 decision vs. Phoenix on homecoming Monday. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists in his 30-point double-double, the most since Nov. 27.
Philadelphia is 11-7 in that span and is trying to climb into Eastern Conference playoff contention despite dealing with no.
Joel Embiid (foot) missed Monday’s game against Phoenix, his 21st game of the season. The 2022-23 NBA Most Valuable Player has played in more than three consecutive games at one point, four straight since Dec. 23-30 which is the longest winning streak for the Sixers this season.
On Monday, Philadelphia was also without veteran Andre Drummond (toe), who has missed five of the past seven games, and Kyle Lowry (hip), who has missed nine games since Nov. 20.
Meanwhile, six-time All-NBA forward Paul George has played in all 14 games since missing 10 of the first 20 of the season, but is averaging just 16.2 points per game.
“It’s tough, man. He came into this season feeling good coming into training camp; kind of getting into a flow. And then you get hurt. That’s tough,” Maxey said of George’s offensive struggles. “He’s never played with the Sixers, so he’s trying to find his way. … I understand where that’s coming from.”
Washington enters Philadelphia with its own injury problems. In Tuesday’s 135-112 loss to Houston, the Wizards were without leading scorer Jordan Poole (hip) for the fourth time in six games and Malcolm Brogdon (foot).
Washington was also without Marvin Bagley III for the ninth time in 10 games due to a knee injury that coach Brian Keefe told reporters he has no time to return.
Back-to-back midweek first-half losses to the Wizards added to the season’s woes for the team with the NBA’s worst record. Washington is on a three game losing streak and has dropped five of its last six.
Adding to the difficulty of its current stretch, Washington’s first two losses in the current skid came against New Orleans, who sits in the bottom of the Western Conference. Sunday’s 110-98 setback at home did come with something positive for the Wizards, however, as Kyle Kuzma scored a game-high 28 points.
Kuzma, who averaged 21.2 and 22.2 points per game the past two seasons, averaged just 15.4 points per contest in 2024-25. The worst thing about Washington’s struggling offense is that Kuzma’s production is second on the team behind Poole at 21.8 points per game.
The Wizards got some key production on Tuesday from Corey Kispert, however. The 38.3-percent 3-point shooter entered the matchup with Houston shooting just 33.3 percent this season, but came off the bench to hit 5-of-7 from deep and finish with 23 points.
“If you just … shoot it, let it roll, there’s enough practice and enough feedback at the end to help you trust that,” Kispert told the Washington Post about finding his long-shot touch.
–Field Level Media