Sixers starters have unblemished mark, but Joel Embiid is looking for much more | Off the Dribble

Good morning 76ers fans. The team had off on Sunday as they traveled to Sacramento, where they will begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday.

At 17-7 and leading the Eastern Conference, the Sixers have completed one-third of their 72-game schedule.

The schedule will get more difficult from now on, but one thing that can be concluded at this point - the starting lineup, with new starters Danny Green and Seth Curry, has clearly worked.

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

Curry and Green have fit in seamlessly with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris in the Sixers starting lineup.

In fact it’s a lineup that has a 13-0 record this season.

Here are the 13 games that the team has won with its regular starting lineup

The combination of Doc Rivers’ offense, which emphasizes spacing, and Curry’s and Green’s ability to stretch a defense with their three-point shooting has opened things up for the Sixers.

In addition, Embiid is playing at an MVP pace. What has made him so difficult to defend is that he is equally dangerous facing the basket as he is playing with his back to the basket.

To Sixers, to be fair, haven’t faced the greatest competition while compiling this streak. Only three of these 13 victories have come against teams with winning records - Boston, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn. And Boston was missing star Jayson Tatum while Brooklyn was without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Even some of the lesser teams were missing key players. Washington was without starting forward Rui Hachimura in its opening loss to the Sixers. Charlotte was without center Tyler Zeller in its first two losses and without Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington in its third loss to the Sixers.

The combined record of the opponents through Sunday’s games is 101-132 (.415).

Maybe that is why Embiid isn’t getting caught up with MVP talk or the fact that the Sixers have gotten out to a good start, or the unbeaten starters’ mark. He is looking for much more.

“We have a long way to go,” he said after Saturday’s 124-108 win over the Nets. “I don’t think we are close to where we want to be. Me personally I don’t think I’m close to where I want to be and I know for sure as a team we are not there yet.”

The Sixers’ big question will be whether they feel the need to obtain a suitable bench upgrade by the March 25 trade deadline.

According to Tankathon.com, through Saturday’s games, the Sixers have the fifth toughest schedule for their remaining 13 first-half games. Their future opponents entering Sunday had a .522 winning percentage.

So as Embiid suggests, there is much work to do, but also quite a bit that has been accomplished thanks to a starting lineup that has jelled from Day One.

Keith Pompey writes that the coronavirus-impacted NBA season has been taxing for players, fans and frankly everyone.

Pompey provides his best/worst awards following the Sixers’ win on Saturday over Brooklyn.

After going scoreless his previous two games, Seth Curry scored 11 against Brooklyn and was encouraged by his performance.

Besides the fact that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn’t play, here are three reasons the Sixers beat the Nets.

Pompey profiles Chafie Fields, the former football star at Mastbaum and Penn State who is now a successful football and basketball agent.

Richaun Holmes has improved greatly since being selected in the second round out of Bowling Green by the Sixers (37th overall) in 2015. After three seasons with the Sixers, the center was traded to the Phoenix Suns for $1 million in July of 2018. He spent one season in Phoenix, but has found his niche in Sacramento.

Now in his second year with Sacramento, Holmes will face his former team when the Sixers visit the Kings on Tuesday.

Holmes is averaging 13 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots, while shooting 65.8 percent from the field.

In Sunday’s 113-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers he had 12 points (6 of 10 from the field) and 10 rebounds.

During three seasons with the Sixers he averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds over 156 games. In his lone season in Phoenix, he averaged 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Holmes then signed a two-year contract for nearly $10 million with the Kings.

His most productive game this year was in a 128-124 home win over Chicago, where he totaled 24 points (shooting 10 of 11 from the field), while grabbing eight rebounds.

He has made the most of his opportunity this season, averaging a career-high 30.5 minutes for a Sacramento team that is now 12-11 and has won four consecutive games.

Tuesday: Sixers at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m., Golden 1 Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

Thursday: Sixers at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m., Moda Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus/TNT

Saturday: Sixers at Phoenix Suns, 3 p.m., Phoenix Suns Arena, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus/NBA TV

Feb. 15: Sixers at Utah Jazz, 9 p.m., Vivint Arena, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Feb. 17: Houston Rockets at Sixers, 7:30 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, ESPN/NBC Sports Philadelphia

Question: The Sixers are picked fifth (https://www.oddsshark.com/nba/championship-odds) to win the NBA championship, with only Brooklyn and Milwaukee ahead of them in the odds in the East. What chance do you give the Sixers to go all the way to L.A. (Lakers or Clippers)? What do you base our chances on?

Answer: Thanks for the question Dusty. I don’t know about odds, but I believe the Sixers match up well with any team in the Eastern Conference. The problem is that I don’t think any of the main contenders are done adding players. The Sixers and Milwaukee can use a scoring presence off the bench. The Nets need a frontcourt defensive stopper. And I wouldn’t count the Celtics out. I think Boston is also a bench player away from being much more interesting. Since the East is in my opinion up for grabs, I see all the teams being active by the March 25 trade deadline.