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Sixers’ road struggles against winning teams is alarming | Off the Dribble

The Sixers have just one road victory over a team currently with a winning record.

With Joel Embiid in the lineup, the Sixers are 0-6 on the road against teams that currently have winning records.
With Joel Embiid in the lineup, the Sixers are 0-6 on the road against teams that currently have winning records.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

The 76ers are spending some important time on the road, their last time away from the Wells Fargo Center before the NBA All-Star break. We all know their road struggles. The Sixers fell to 9-16 away from home with Thursday’s 127-117 loss in Atlanta.

If one thinks playing the 13-36 Hawks on the road was difficult, what comes next might be disconcerting to the Sixers, with three straight Eastern Conference contenders on the schedule.

The Sixers will visit Boston on Saturday and travel to Miami on Monday. After Monday’s game against the Heat, the Sixers will return to Philadelphia. They will practice Wednesday before finishing the road trip in Milwaukee on Thursday, the day of the NBA trade deadline.

The Sixers will attempt to reverse a trend of playing poorly on the road against winning teams. After the loss in Atlanta, that won’t be very easy.

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

Road woes vs heavyweights

The Sixers’ road record, poor as it is, is downright dismal against teams currently with winning records.

The Sixers are 1-10 on the road against teams with winning records. The Sixers are 1-4 in such road games without Joel Embiid, which means they are 0-6 with him.

Here is a look at the road games against teams with current winning records.

Nov. 6 at Utah, 106-104 L

Nov. 8 at Denver, 100-97 L

Nov. 15 at Oklahoma City, 127-119 OT L

Nov. 25 at Toronto, 101-96 L

Dec. 12 at Boston, 115-109 W

Dec. 28 at Miami, 117-116 OT L

Dec. 31 at Indiana, 115-97 L

Jan. 3 at Houston, 118-108 L

Jan. 11 at Dallas, 109-91 L

Jan. 13 at Indiana, 101-95 L

Jan. 22 at Toronto, 107-95 L

Six of the losses are by six or fewer points or in overtime, so for most of the games, the Sixers have been competitive, but that hasn’t been enough this year.

Now the Sixers will be tested in their final three road games before the All-Star game. Their next three opponents — Boston, Miami and Milwaukee — are a combined 69 games over .500.

The Sixers are 3-0 this season against the Celtics, including 1-0 in Boston. They are 1-0 against Milwaukee, beating the Bucks, 121-109, on Christmas Day. Against the Heat, the Sixers are 1-2, including 0-1 in Miami.

One other sobering stat for Sixers fans: Boston, Miami and Milwaukee are a combined 62-10 at home.

This looks like a rough road for the Sixers to travel.

Starting five

  1. Keith Pompey has the story on Ben Simmons’ being named an NBA All-Star reserve.

  2. Pompey writes that the Sixers aim to reduce Simmons’ role as primary ballhandler.

  3. Marcus Hayes writes that Tobias Harris is growing into the Sixers’ version of Kobe Bryant.

  4. Zhaire Smith is no longer wearing No. 8 for the Sixers in honor of Kobe, Pompey writes.

  5. Susan Francia, who won an Olympic gold medal in rowing in 2008, writes about her experience with Kobe Bryant at those Games.

Multiple Sixers All-Stars

Embiid and Simmons will represent the Sixers in this year’s NBA All-Star Game, Feb. 16 in Chicago. It will be the third straight All-Star appearance and start for Embiid. For Simmons, who was named Thursday as a reserve, it will be his second straight appearance.

Here are the players in franchise history (including those with the Syracuse Nationals) who have been named to multiple All-Star Games, according to the Sixers media guide.

Dolph Schayes (12)

Julius Erving (11)

Hal Greer (10)

Allen Iverson (7)

Charles Barkley (6)

Larry Costello (6)

Maurice Cheeks (4)

Doug Collins (4)

Billy Cunningham (4)

Moses Malone (4)

Wilt Chamberlain (3)

John “Red” Kerr (3)

Paul Seymour (3)

Chet Walker (3)

Joel Embiid (3)

George McGinnis (2)

Bobby Jones (2)

Andrew Toney (2)

Ben Simmons (2)

Important dates

Tomorrow: Sixers at Boston Celtics, 8:30 p.m., ABC

Monday: Sixers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, NBA TV.

Thursday: Sixers at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m., TNT

Next Friday: Memphis at Sixers, 7 p.m. NBC Sports Philadelphia

Feb. 6: Chicago Bulls at Sixers, 6 p.m. NBC Sports Philadelphia

Passing the rock

Question: Is Embiid saving his energy for the all-star game? @jrb333 on Twitter.

Answer: Thanks for the question. Embiid wasn’t the only one who looked like he didn’t have a lot of energy in Thursday’s loss, but you make a good point.

We had just written how Embiid surprised coach Brett Brown with his conditioning in Tuesday’s 115-104 win over Golden State, and then the center didn’t take a step forward against Atlanta.

In his first two games back after missing nine with the finger injury, Embiid has not been posting up frequently and taking advantage of mismatches down low. According to NBA.com stats, nine of his 14 shots against Atlanta came from 13 feet or farther. Is it a sign of fatigue that he is settling for jump shots?

He also shot 2-for-7 from the foul line against Atlanta. Is that fatigue, or is his hand hurting? Overall, he’s an 81.6% foul shooter.

Either way, Embiid’s energy level will be watched closely in the six games leading to the All-Star Game.