Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers look poised for a run

The Philadelphia 76ers are 22-20 halfway through their NBA schedule. They look poised for a run at a playoff berth with their latest string of victories.

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. Their recent 114-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks was the Sixers’ third-straight victory and seventh in their last eight games.

Surprisingly, it only took Sixers center Joel Embiid 63 career games before getting his first All-Star nod on the Eastern Conference squad. Embiid put up 29 points and nine rebounds in Philadelphia’s victory on Saturday night.

As a team, the Philadelphia 76ers have generated an offensive rating of 108.2 and a defensive rating of 96.9, producing a healthy net rating a +11.2 in the last eight contests. At 5-1 in January, Philadelphia has figuratively turned a corner and it’s started with players filling their roles.

Take second-year forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (TLC), for instance, who had 16 points in 29 minutes. It was just his second start of the season. TLC was 5-of-9 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point land in the Sixers’ victory on Saturday night. He also had three rebounds and two assists. He came up huge for Philadelphia, who will be without veteran shooting guard J.J. Redick.

Redick has missed the Sixers last two contests with a leg injury. He was putting up 19.5 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting from 3 in the month of January before being sidelined with the injury. His injury has tested the team’s depth in the backcourt and the team has passed so far.