Was the Sixers’ recent success fool’s gold? We’ll find out as their schedule gets tougher

NEW YORK — A drizzle of optimism worked its way into the 76ers’ locker room on Dec. 28.

The Sixers had just defeated the Utah Jazz for their fifth win in six games. It was a stretch in which they took care of the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball twice, Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, and the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown before outlasting Lauri Markkanen’s Jazz.

The fog of the previous two months had begun to clear, and the frustrations caused by inconsistent effort, injuries, and coaching decisions had given way to more harmonious basketball.

The Sixers, again, were unbeatable against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The ball popped in their most lopsided victory of the season.

» READ MORE: Finally healthy, the Sixers are slowly starting to turn the corner: ‘We’ve come together a lot more’

But it was “fool’s gold,” a phrase one could use to describe the Sixers’ high points throughout the season.

As part of his load-management plan, the team was set to play a game without their stabilizer, Joel Embiid. As their poor numbers this season tell you, their offense returned to faltering. Their defense, as the numbers would tell you, was destined to get exposed — again.

So over the next two games, the optimism from earlier in the week evaporated with crushing losses.

With Embiid having the night off, the Sixers blew a nine-point lead with 3 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in a New Year’s Day road loss to the Sacramento Kings. Then with Embiid back the next night, the Golden State Warriors made 22 three-pointers en route to handing the Sixers a 34-point setback, their worst loss of the season.

So what now?

The Sixers (14-19), 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, bounced back Saturday against the 12th-place Brooklyn Nets. But the reality is, the 123-94 victory over the depleted and struggling Nets (13-22), isn’t a switch they can flip to become a championship contender. Brooklyn started the game without seven players due to injuries. Meanwhile, another player — D’Angelo Russell — didn’t play in the second due to a bruised right shin.

So the Sixers were expected to blow out Brooklyn.

However, setbacks to the Warriors and Kings didn’t feel like outliers. They were much more predictable hiccups for a squad that has struggled to sustain success.

They boast one of the league’s best trios in All-Stars Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George on paper.

However, Thursday marked just their ninth game together because of injuries. And even though it is a small sample size, the Sixers have been unable to unleash George while playing alongside Embiid.

» READ MORE: Paul George was expected to elevate the Sixers offense. So far, he’s been a less than sure shot.

Aside from that, the team doesn’t have a reliable roster needed to knock out conference-title contenders in the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Celtics in a seven-game playoff series.

The Sixers, far too often, rely heavily on iso-ball when moving the ball or sticking to the game plan are better options. And even when they swing the ball, they’ve struggled to make open shots.

There’s also no urgency on defense in closing out on three-point shooters. Outside of Embiid (7-foot-2) and reserve center Andre Drummond (6-11), the Sixers lack size. And opponents are taking full advantage of that by routinely scoring easily in the paint.

This is all part of why the Sixers are 4-15 against teams that are .500 or better.

One could argue that the other 10 victories are the result of playing a lot of bad teams. And they’ll continue their stretch against losing opponents during the upcoming three-game homestand against the Phoenix Suns (Monday), the Washington Wizards (Wednesday), and the New Orleans Pelicans (Friday).

The Suns are 15-18 with a four-game losing streak after Saturday’s road loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Wizards (6-26) and Pelicans (6-29) have the league’s worst records.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Andre Drummond, Nick Nurse in favor of new All-Star Game format after it got ‘a little stale’

But the schedule will get tougher from there. The Sixers have the NBA’s 12th-toughest January schedule.

They also have four remaining back-to-backs out of a league-high five this month. The Sixers are 0-4 in the second games of back-to-backs this season. And with Embiid unlikely to play in both games of back-to-backs, the task becomes even more difficult.

The drizzle of optimism will return if the Sixers have a successful homestand. But what will happen next?

Will that, once again, be chalked up to fool’s gold?