How the Sixers are combatting the NBA’s ‘dog days’ before All-Star break

SAN ANTONIO — When asked about reaching this point of the 76ers’ season, reserve forward Georges Niang quipped, “Can’t you tell by how good I look?”

This pocket between the holidays and the mid-February All-Star break is often regarded as the NBA’s “dog days.” It looked like that term might not apply to the now-healthy Sixers, who recently rode through a 5-0 Western Conference road trip and then topped the Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets in high-profile matchups.

Yet, this week’s home split against the Orlando Magic was a reminder that the 33-17 Sixers are not immune to the lapses connected to this time of year, and that they will need to combat human nature to reach the All-Star checkpoint with that positive momentum.

“The play tends to fall off leading into [the break] because guys check out,” reserve wing Matisse Thybulle said. “It’s all just mental toughness, just being able to run through the finish line instead of slowing up and walking through. It’ll be a good test for us, and I think we’re more than capable of doing it the right way.”

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When looking back on this season, the primary “get-through-it” period will likely be when they weathered significant foot injuries to standout guards James Harden and Tyrese Maxey (and a minor injury and illness to MVP contender Joel Embiid) through November and December.

The past month, meanwhile, has come with a freshness of gaining rhythm with the full roster, including a personnel switch to bring Maxey off the bench and keep defensive guard De’Anthony Melton in the starting lineup. The Sixers went 20-4 from Dec. 9 until Jan. 28, rising as high as second in the Eastern Conference.

“I don’t think we’re thinking of it as the dog days,” Niang said, “because Tyrese, he’s out there running a million miles an hour. He’s just so excited to be out there. … I think all of us are kind of putting the blockers on that.”

Added Maxey: “It’s like the middle of the year for us. ... We’re just happy to be out there all together [and] healthy.”

The NBA also (successfully) manufactured some extra juice with the Sixers’ “rivalry week” slate played in front of animated home crowds. After the first on-court matchup between Embiid and the reviled Ben Simmons in the Sixers’ Jan. 25 win over the Nets, Embiid outdueled back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic with 47 points — capped by hitting a three-pointer over Jokic — in a nationally televised showdown against the West-leading Nuggets.

The Sixers have encountered a different kind of potential pitfall this past week — inferior-yet-pesky competition. They blew a 21-point first-half lead Monday against the Magic and then pulled away to a Wednesday victory, but were plagued by 38 combined turnovers and overall sloppiness throughout both games. Up next is a long trip to the 14-38 San Antonio Spurs, who are viewed as a “tanking” franchise yet upset the Sixers at home in October.

After that, five of the Sixers’ six remaining opponents before the break — the New York Knicks (twice), the East-leading Boston Celtics, the Nets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers — would make the postseason if it began today. That high caliber of competition only continues when play resumes, as the Sixers entered Friday with the NBA’s second-toughest remaining strength of schedule, per Tankathon.com. They open with home games against the Memphis Grizzlies, Celtics, and Miami Heat, before a brutal March with 12 road games and four back-to-back sets.

That’s why multiple Sixers emphasized that these upcoming games count for playoff positioning just as much as down-the-stretch matchups. Harden also looks at the continuity of the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, the East’s last two Finals participants who are again viewed as the favorites to come out of the conference, and understands it is imperative that the Sixers utilize all on-court time to build chemistry and timing. Embiid echoed his co-star, saying this stretch is about identifying the right lineup combinations and “getting better every single day.”

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Physical and mental rest will arrive for the Sixers in less than two weeks.

Until then …

“You don’t want to be that team that they’re thirsty to get to the All-Star break,” Melton said. “We feel like every game we should be winning, so we want to make sure that games now don’t affect us down the road, when we’re trying to fight for seeding and stuff like that.

“Closing out these games, I think, is important, because some teams may try to be lackadaisical. Some teams may try to turn it up, too. We’ve just got to be steady.”