Nov 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers Nick Nurse reacts against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The game was effectively over not two minutes into the third quarter.
One team was a decent NBA team. The other was wearing an NBA uniform and that was about it.
It was the Sixers' 13th loss in 16 games. Their defense got picked apart. Their offense was offensive.
It's been seven days since the Sixers held a team meeting following a blowout loss to the Miami Heat.
The next game? They got pummeled by a Memphis Grizzlies team down several starters and rotation players.
The five-game losing streak ended on Friday. A new one may have begun on Sunday.
The Sixers are 1-2 since the team meeting that made national headlines. Any signs of improvement were dashed away in humiliating fashion by the Los Angeles Clippers to cap the week.
Head coach Nick Nurse didn't run away from the truth when asked about his team's response since the meeting.
"There's nothing you can say about tonight [against the Clippers], other than it's really disappointing. Again, I was fairly hopeful because this group, when we played Cleveland, played OK. Moved the ball, guarded hard, played tough. Same group the other night against Brooklyn. Pretty hard fought game. Moved the ball, played tough," Nurse said after a 26-point beatdown at the hands of James Harden and company.
"They just didn't have one more in them. Tonight, the energy, the physicality was off, man. Picked a tough night to have everybody kind of go a little bit of energy draining. So, got to get them back and get to work and get focused and re-energize. Recovery tomorrow, and get these guys ready to go because, that group, we've seen them play some OK basketball. So, we got to do that."
The Sixers are off Monday. They will practice Tuesday and host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
It's getting late early.
