Before we dive into the disaster that unfolded in last night in San Francisco, consider this:

• It’s March 7, 2020.
• A primetime matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors is on national television.
• Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are all not playing due to injury.

If someone told me that would be the case a few months ago, I would have laughed in their face. The 76ers season hasn’t exactly played out the way it was supposed to and losing on the road to a team of 10-day contract players with a combined starting lineup making less than a total of $30 million was just icing on the cake.

This was the perfect opportunity for the Sixers to pick up two consecutive wins on the road and split a tough road trip 2-2 before coming back home for 5 of 6 games in South Philly – where they are 28-2 on the season. But clearly, that didn’t happen. This was a bad loss, regardless of who was playing.

Really, Really, Bad:

1. The Sixers were outscored 36-24 in the 4Q.
2. Furkan Korkmaz was absolutely dreadful on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball – then topped it off by stepping out of bounds on an inbound play designed specifically for him to get a 3pt shot off at the end of the game.
3. Raul Neto got minutes over Shake Milton in the 4th quarter.
4. Mike Scott got scorched underneath the basket while at center.
5. Shake Milton only took 10 shots the entire game.
6. Brett Brown used seemingly, the only play he knows, at the end of the game on a Furkan three rather than going to Shake Milton, GR3, or Alec Burks.

Reasons for Hope:

1. Over the last 10 games, Shake Milton is averaging 15.3 points per game and has proved he can generate his own shot and be efficient at both ends of the floor.
2. Al Horford has played like the Al Horford we hoped we’d see all season.
3. Tobias Harris – although struggling to create his own shot and become a “playmaker” remains the Sixers most consistent player.
4. Joel Embiid & Josh Richardson should be returning to the lineup as soon as Wednesday.

Looking Ahead:

The Sixers play 7 of their next 10 games at home which is always a good thing given their struggles on the road. Joel and J-Rich should be back with the team. As for Ben Simmons? Who knows. The 76ers “hope Ben will be back before the playoffs” but really, what the hell does that even mean.

I also found this to be somewhat odd when checking out Ben’s Twitter. His profile picture is just completely black? TMR Reporting:

pic.twitter.com/zHS8dM5CHf

— TMR (@TheMiseryReport) March 8, 2020

I will continue to write this at the bottom of every Sixers post. No team, in their right minds, wants to play a healthy 76ers team, regardless of the seeding, in the playoffs.

See you back at the WFC Wednesday night as the Sixers host the Pistons.