Milwaukee Bucks remain atop NBA Power Rankings by taking care of business

Last week: Lost at Indiana 115-97, lost at Houston 118-108

This week: Monday vs. Oklahoma City, Thursday vs. Boston, Saturday at Dallas

The Philadelphia 76ers handled the Bucks on Christmas Day … and have proceeded to go 0-4 since. It is the team’s longest losing streak since dropping five in a row from Dec. 15-23, 2017. The 76ers have just been two different teams this season — the group that has gone 16-2 at home while outscoring foes by nearly 10 points a game, and the team that is 7-12 on the road.

The defensive differences are stunning — Philadelphia is allowing 101.5 points per game at home compared to 109.8 points per game as the visiting team. The 76ers made a lot of moves in the offseason, but the Joel Embiid–Al Horford combination may not be working as well as general manager Elton Brand and coach Brett Brown had hoped.

The split is home/road based. In 15 games at home, the tandem has a net rating of plus-11.3 in 204 minutes. In 11 road games, the pair has a net rating of minus-6.5 in 180 minutes. Ben Simmons did what he could last week, scoring 47 points with 23 rebounds, 14 assists, five blocks and three steals in two games, scoring 29 points in a triple-double Saturday night at Houston.

Last week: Lost at New Orleans 127-112, beat Denver 130-104, beat Philadelphia 118-108

This week: Wednesday at Atlanta, Thursday at Oklahoma City, Saturday vs. Minnesota

The Houston Rockets lost at New Orleans last Sunday while playing without James Harden and Clint Capela. Once those two were back in the starting lineup, the Rockets pasted the Nuggets and beat the 76ers by double figures. Houston has won seven of its last nine games, although the two losses are to the two worst teams in the West in New Orleans and Golden State, both on the road.

One player who had a nice breakout was second-year big man Isaiah Hartenstein. He started for Capela in New Orleans and went for a career-high 19 points with nine rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. He followed it up with the second double-figure scoring night — and first double-double — of his career, racking up 16 points and 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes against Denver.

Hartenstein was a second-round pick by the Rockets out of Germany in 2017 and signed with Houston in July 2018, appearing in only 28 games with the Rockets and 26 with their G League affiliate in Edinburg, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he was the G League Finals MVP last season. This season he has 13 games with the parent club and six in the G League.