I wouldn’t pin last night’s loss on any one thing specifically.

Start with the fact that the absences of Jimmy Butler and Mike Muscala forced Brett Brown into playing what essentially amounted to a seven-man rotation, with T.J. McConnell and Landry Shamet receiving 29 and 20 minutes, respectively.

That’s one thing.

Then you could go free-throw shooting, where the Sixers only hit at 75% on 16 trips to the line while Brooklyn shot 86% on 43 attempts. You can say that number might be bloated due to the late 4th quarter scramble, but it was lopsided well before then, with the Sixers still in single digit free throw attempts midway through the final period.

After that, you can look at Joel Embiid, who had 23 points on 10-15 shooting going into halftime, but put up only three more field goals in the second half.

You could make a note of JJ Redick’s 1-7 mark from three point range. Maybe jot down 17 turnovers in your notebook.

You could also spend some time talking about Brooklyn’s efficiency from the perimeter and about the constant struggles the Sixers have with this team.

Brown and his players touched on almost all of those subjects after the game, but before I go quote-heavy, I want to start with the two fourth quarter sequences that essentially put this one to bed.

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Via team President Chris Heck:

#OnBrand x @sixers

Christmas Day snow in Boston?

2018/19 @nike Earned Edition pic.twitter.com/cTNmeswE28

— Chris Heck (@chrisheck76) December 12, 2018

Looks like a white version of the Rocky-inspired City Edition uniform. They’ll wear these on Christmas Day and a few more times during the regular season.

Thoughts?

According to Colin Cowherd:

"Philadelphia is already dysfunctional with Jimmy Butler. Houston an ugly 11-14. San Antonio is irrelevant. Then there were the Lakers. A deep, young roster that needed a centralized leader. LeBron's always made the right decision." — @ColinCowherd pic.twitter.com/6oKc7gqmCF

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 11, 2018

Last time I checked, the Sixers are 10-3 since Butler arrived. Joel Embiid’s comments from the weekend were handled internally and he says that all is well.

Time’s yours.

Super short media availability today in Camden.

Brett Brown spoke for a few minutes and that was it. No players, who were in a mandatory meeting.

Here’s the update on Jimmy Butler via the head ball coach:

“The MRI came back favorable, but we will list him as doubtful for tomorrow night. In regards to what are we guessing or what are we thinking going forward, we really can’t make that prediction. What we can say is that the MRI revealed, as I said, nothing significant, but we deem him to be doubtful for tomorrow night.”

Brown is already dealing with a depleted bench due to the absences of Markelle Fultz and Zhaire Smith. There are essentially only eight players getting regular minutes now, which might open the door for a bit more of Amir Johnson or even Jonah Bolden or Shake Milton moving forward.

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You might know Brandon “Taz” Niederauer as the teenager who does the national anthem at the Sixers’ games every so often. He looks like a young Jimi Hendrix out there.

He sells out shows up and down the east coast, but more importantly, he’s a Sixers fan, and he’s gonna be in town this weekend playing The Fillmore. Before that gig, he’ll swing over to the Wells Fargo Center for the anthem again, but it looks like he’s added another tune to his repertoire.

Check this out:

Best theme song ever? @sixers

SO psyched to play the national anthem and halftime at the #Sixers game on Fri before my show at The Foundry at @FillmorePhilly on Sat. @JimmyButler, @JoelEmbiid, @BenSimmons25… who’s up for some 1 on 1?? 🏀#76ers #TrustTheProcess #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/EkCELIqpWA

— Brandon “Taz” Niederauer (@NiederauerMusic) December 11, 2018

He’s ahead of me in the guitar department; that’s for sure. I didn’t start playing until I was 17 and it took me like three months to learn “Louie Louie.” I didn’t learn the Zakk Wylde riffs and pinch harmonics until college.