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The Sixers never said things would be easy

The Sixers rank next-to-last in the NBA in foul shooting and 27th in field-goal percentage.

Sixers forward Amir Johnson (5) looks to pass the ball under pressure from Raptors guard Delon Wright (left) and center Jakob Poeltl during Saturday’s game in Toronto.
Sixers forward Amir Johnson (5) looks to pass the ball under pressure from Raptors guard Delon Wright (left) and center Jakob Poeltl during Saturday’s game in Toronto.Read moreFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
    by Keith Pompey | Columnist
    Published 

TORONTO — The 76ers realize how demoralizing Saturday's 128-94 loss to the Toronto Raptors appeared.

The facial expressions that coach Brett Brown displayed during his postgame news conference revealed it. So did the solemn mood and blank stares in the Sixers' locker room.

Despite all of the preseason hype, the Sixers, who have several new players, realize it's going to take some time to jell. They are also aware they have the league's toughest schedule to start the season. Yet the team, which has playoff aspirations, never expected to be dominated the way it was inside the Air Canada Centre — even considering Joel Embiid's absence.

The Sixers dropped to 0-3 after failing to shoot 40 percent for the second straight game. This time, they made just 32 of 82 shots for 39 percent. They also committed a season-worst 20 turnovers and only made 61.1 percent of their free throws.

Defensively, the Sixers couldn't stop the Raptors (2-0) from doing whatever they wanted.

"I knew the first three games were going to be difficult," Brown said. "I knew coming into this building [on the second night of] a back-to-back was going to be difficult. But you are certainly not expecting it to be that margin of a deficit."

The squad hopes to get a lift from Embiid on Monday against the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. He didn't make the trip to Canada because he wasn't going to get on the court after playing Friday night at home against the Boston Celtics. He has yet to be cleared to play on consecutive days after undergoing knee surgery last season.

But his presence didn't help them against an undermanned Boston squad. That matchup and Saturday's contest proved that the Sixers have a lot of improving to do. They were ranked 27th out of 30 teams in field-goal percentage (41.0) heading into Sunday's NBA matchups. The Sixers were also 29th in foul shooting (67.6 percent), 25th in scoring defense (116.7 points per game), and 21st in turnovers (18.0).

However, the team remains confident that things will turn around. It's just going to involve more work than expected.

The Sixers also realize that they have arguably the league's toughest schedule to start the season. Their first three opponents — the Washington Wizards, Celtics, and Raptors — are among the Eastern Conference's elite teams.

They'll face a hungry Pistons squad (2-1) on Monday before hosting the Houston Rockets (3-0) on Wednesday. After that, the Sixers have consecutive road games at the Dallas  (0-3) on Saturday and at Houston next Monday. There's a legitimate chance that the Sixers could open the season 1-6 or 0-7.

Still, the team vows to remain patient.

"If we were 0-45, then I would start to panic," J.J. Redick said. "There are 82 games. We have a very tough schedule to start. We're a young team."

It's a team trying to find a way to jell quicker and reduce the margin of error to compete with the league's elite teams.