By Jerry Wein
The Sixers ended their toughest week of the season with two losses to the Bucks and a 39-21 record, a game behind the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference.
Next up is the tanking Oklahoma CityThunder, who are without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and have lost 13 straight. After the two against Atlanta, they then have games against the Spurs, Bulls, Rockets, Pelicans, Pistons, Pacers and Heat before finishing the regular season with two against the Magic. There isn’t a game in that mix the 76ers can’t win.
They have the league’s easiest remaining strength of schedule, with the final 12 games coming against opponents with a combined .412 winning percentage. Milwaukee has a relatively easy schedule as well (seventh easiest), but Brooklyn has the ninth most difficult.
The Sixers’ toughest remaining opponent is the 33-27 Hawks, whom they play a two-game series against at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday and Friday. But the Hawks might be without Trae Young, who suffered a scary ankle injury when he landed on Norvel Pelle’s foot on Wednesday.
Sixers have dropped 1 full game out of 1st https://t.co/18snfxnR7a pic.twitter.com/JuplqqGHbS
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) April 25, 2021
