At 14-11 through 25 games, the Philadelphia 76ers are sitting right where their record says they should be - not bad, not great, just somewhere in the middle of the Eastern Conference shuffle. And if you've been watching this team closely, that tracks. The numbers don’t scream anything extreme, and the performances on the floor have mirrored that same inconsistency.
Some nights, Tyrese Maxey looks like he’s ready to crash the MVP conversation. Other nights, VJ Edgecombe flashes the kind of potential that makes you think he could be a real Rookie of the Year contender.
But then there are those games - and there have been a few - where neither shows up in a big way, and you're reminded of just how chaotic the 2024-25 campaign was. Even Joel Embiid, the franchise cornerstone, has only had a handful of moments that resemble the dominant force Philly has built around for years.
The result? A team that looks like a playoff lock, but not one that’s done enough to avoid the play-in tournament. That’s the line the Sixers are walking right now - talented enough to be in the mix, but not consistent enough to separate themselves from the pack.
So, how does this group level up? How does Philadelphia shift from a middle-tier team to one that can make real noise in what’s shaping up to be a wide-open Eastern Conference?
It starts on the defensive end.
Forget the most recent loss to Atlanta - that one didn’t offer much to write home about defensively. But the five games leading up to that slip-up?
That stretch showed something. The Sixers went 4-1 over that span, and even the lone loss - a 112-108 battle with the Lakers - was a tightly contested game.
That 112-point mark was the highest total they allowed in those five games, and it came against a team with serious offensive weapons.
The other four games? Philly held Washington to 102, Golden State to 98, Milwaukee to 101, and Indiana to 105.
Those are solid defensive efforts across the board, and more importantly, they were wins. That kind of defensive identity is what this team needs to lean into if it wants to build momentum heading into the new year.
Offensively, Maxey has been the one constant. He’s the engine, the go-to guy, and the only player you can count on night in and night out to create offense.
That’s no knock on Edgecombe - the rookie has had a promising start - but like any first-year player, he’s still navigating the ups and downs of the NBA grind. He’ll win the Sixers a few games on talent alone, but he’s not yet at the point where you can pencil in 20+ points every night.
That’s why Philly has to get comfortable winning ugly. They’re going to need to grind out games, lean into the defensive end, and find ways to win when the shots aren’t falling. And let’s be honest - there will be plenty of nights where the shots don’t fall.
Veteran Paul George, despite a rocky start in Philly and a contract that’s raised some eyebrows, has at least brought some defensive stability. His offense hasn’t been what the Sixers hoped for, but if he can continue to defend at a high level, that’s a piece Philly can work with. Same goes for Embiid - even if the offensive dominance hasn’t been there every night, his presence in the paint still alters games defensively.
And when guys like Kelly Oubre return from injury, or Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain, and even George get hot from the perimeter, those are the bonus nights. But the foundation has to be defense. That’s the most sustainable path forward for this group.
Right now, the Sixers are sporting a defensive rating of 114.3. That’s not elite, but it’s not far off from the 113.3 mark they posted in 2022-23 - a season where they won 54 games and held a 3-2 lead over Boston in the second round. We all know how that story ended, but ask any Sixers fan today if they’d take a 3-2 lead in the second round - against anyone - and the answer would be an emphatic yes.
So where does that leave us?
There are still questions. Can the defense hold up over the long haul?
Can anyone consistently help Maxey carry the offensive load? Those are fair concerns.
But for the first time in a while, there’s at least a path - not a perfect one, but a real one - that could lead this team back into the conversation.
And in a season where the East feels more open than it has in years, that’s not nothing.