There it is.

The worst win of the year.

The Sixers improved to 43-25 and remain in third place in the Eastern Conference.

I’m normally a “win is a win” type of guy, but when you’re 15 or whatever games away from the playoffs and you’re not putting away the Cleveland Cavaliers at home until the final minute of the fourth quarter, then you should probably be at least a bit concerned, considering the expectations justifiably placed on this team before the season, after the Jimmy Butler trade, and now following the Tobias Harris move.

They just didn’t look focused last night, didn’t look dialed in. They looked the same way they did when they played the Cavs at home on Black Friday, stuffed on Tryptophan and sleepwalking through too many lethargic sequences, resulting in the worst loss of the season.

Credit is due to Joel Embiid for showing up late, with a clutch putback dunk and game-sealing block on the defensive end. He described himself as “trash” in his postgame press conference but made enough plays when it really mattered to cement victory, hitting four straight free throws to ice this one after stuffing Ante Zizic on a critical ATO play with 33 seconds on the clock.

That’s the glass-half-full approach, the idea that they “found a way to win,” but this game deserves the ole’ Negadelphia spin.

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From the Sixers:

The team has recalled @zhaire_smith from @blue_coats. He will be available for tonight’s game vs. Cleveland.

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 12, 2019

Brett Brown said he’s not sure if Smith will get in the game. I’d think he’ll likely get a run if the Sixers put this one away early, which they should.

Smith has played four games for the Blue Coats this season at 19.8 minutes per. He’s averaging 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 37.5% from the floor, which is probably what you’d expect from a guy who has gone through a combination Jones fracture and allergy complication. The Sixers saw him as a two-way wing with a lot of upside when they traded for him back in June, and just seeing Zhaire back on the court will be a nice moment in general considering that he got hit with the same rookie curse that sidelined Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, and Markelle Fultz.

James Ennis will start for Jimmy Butler tonight, who is getting a rest. Boban Marjanovic is available after missing the last six games.

The 3rd place Sixers are back at it tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they took a break last night, a brief respite from the regular season grind to hit up The Fillmore for the 4th Annual Sixers Youth Foundation Gala.

It’s the organization’s biggest fundraising event of the year, a ‘who’s who’ of Philly basketball and week-long silent auction wrapped into one big party.

Brett Brown stopped by the event after Tuesday’s practice session in Camden.

“Something like this has grown since I have been with the organization,” the head coach said. “People like Amy Hever (Executive Director, Community Relations) and the people behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit. I believe if you could find a handful of these types of events that you do annually, then you have a culture, a consistent sort of caliber to be a part of this, have the club really dig in and make it a big part of what they do. It’s a fantastic night.”

It’s one night only, but an opportunity for the team to get away from basketball and shift gears for an evening.

“This is very busy this time of year as we all know,” Brown continued. “I think to come down here, to have the players come down and support it and be a part of it, it’s stuff you know you have to do and want to do. It’s for a great cause and we always look forward to coming down and meeting people, representing the club. Tuesday we’ll get ready to play Cleveland.”

Some photos from the event, after the jump:

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By now you know that Kendall Jenner is one of us – a blue collar, hard-working, self made Philly type of woman.

The Sixers won another game with Kendall in attendance on Sunday afternoon, and she was rocking a personalized jersey with a patch on the front:

IMPORTANT KENDALL JENNER UPDATE:

It would appear she has a special “Kenny” patch on her jersey, most likely her nickname.

Do with this information what you will. pic.twitter.com/SVSAXDOSbS

— Nick Brown (@NickyBeaster) March 10, 2019

Pretty cool. Maybe I can get one that says “Kinker” on it.

The pair was also spotted at the CHERRY HILL MALL recently, which is crazy to me. My sources tell me they had to turn right in order to turn left, which only happens in New Jersey. I guarantee Bendall had to make that dumbass right turn near the Kohl’s and Target shopping center, just so they could then steer their way to Mall Drive and pull in near the California Pizza Kitchen.

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There’s an interview with Tobias Harris that went up on The Athletic this morning, a discussion with Shams Charania.

It’s worth a read if you have a subscription, but I thought this passage was worth sharing on here:

Harris’ numbers since joining the 76ers on Feb. 8 — 20.9 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 assists per game — are nearly identical to his statistics with the Los Angeles Clippers. Harris told The Athletic he had identified the 76ers as a potential free-agent destination this July, even prior to the trade. He and (Jimmy) Butler are scheduled to be free agents, and the 76ers have said they want to re-sign both players. Their decisions, like the franchise’s, will likely come after the 76ers postseason push.

No matter what Butler does in free agency, the 76ers would have the ultimate complementary player in Harris, who’s willing to lead, unite his teammates and play a significant role alongside Embiid and Simmons as a scoring and shooting power forward.

Yep, he would have made a ton of sense this offseason had the Sixers not done the trade to bring him in last month. If you’re asking me who makes more sense to max out, I think Harris is the guy right now, and not Butler, who is three years older and doesn’t seem to fit as well into the system. I’d ask Jimmy if he’ll take something like three years to stick around, if they’re inclined to keep him.

This passage was also pretty good, after the jump:

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Joel Embiid played five on five for about 75 minutes on Saturday afternoon at the Sixers’ Camden practice facility.

It was more or less a test run for Sunday’s uber-important tilt against the Pacers, but Embiid didn’t come out of the session feeling totally confident in his readiness.

“Saturday it basically told me that I wasn’t ready, because after every game I was on the floor crying for my life,” Embiid joked after the Sixers’ 106-89 victory. “I didn’t think I was going to come in and play. The goal of this (Indiana) game was basically we thought I could only play 24 minutes and depending on my conditioning, I told them ‘let’s just go with the flow of the game’ and I’m glad we got a chance to rest me at the end.”

Embiid wound up playing just under 28 minutes in the win. He isn’t entirely sure what restrictions the medical staff might suggest moving forward, and said no determination has been made regarding back-to-back games.

“We haven’t talked about it,” said Embiid. “I’m sure at some point they’re going to want me to miss another game just to make sure they deliver me to the playoffs in great shape and healthy, which I’ve been the whole season. I was just unfortunate (with the knee). You just gotta go with the flow. If I feel great, and my body feels good, I’m not missing anything.”

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