The Sixers must put ‘ugly’ loss to Grizzlies in the rearview and look ahead to critical four-game road trip

If it’s up to 76ers center Dwight Howard, having a short memory is best as the team prepares for a four-game road trip starting Tuesday in Boston.

Howard says there is no use poring over the tape of Sunday’s 116-100 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, a game that was more lopsided than the final score indicated. This loss came on the heels of Saturday’s 122-113 home win over Minnesota, a game the Sixers couldn’t put away until late against a Timberwolves team that entered Monday with 12 wins, the fewest in the NBA. The Sixers (34-16) have now lost three of their last five games.

“I thought it was ugly,” Howard said postgame about the Sixers’ loss to Memphis. “And I really don’t want to look at the film and re-live the game today.”

There was a theme after the game with Howard, coach Doc Rivers, and others who stated the Sixers were fatigued after a seasonlong six-game road trip ended on Thursday, followed byback-to-back home games over the weekend.

Yet this is the NBA in 2021, when every team is playing a condensed schedule with little time to rest. Starting Tuesday, the Sixers will play their final 22 regular-season games in 41 days.

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“That is how it is going this year, a lot of games in less days so everyone has to go through it,” said Mike Scott, who is shooting 25% from three-point territory in his last 12 games. “We will be all right.”

The main priority for the Sixers is getting Joel Embiid up to speed. To his credit, Embiid scored 24 points and had eight rebounds in 28 minutes, 35 seconds against Minnesota after missing the previous 10 games with a left knee bone bruise. He sat out Sunday due to left knee recovery.

Embiid was not listed on the injury report for Tuesday’s game with Boston.

At times against Minnesota, he looked gassed and rusty (0-for-4 from three-point range.) Embiid admitted afterward that the rust came more at the defensive end.

Either way, provided there are no more setbacks, there is time for Embiid to regain his form.

Time will tell whether Ben Simmons can do the same. Since the All-Star break, Simmons has averaged 12.9 points and has shot just 45.5% from the field and 54.4% from the foul line.

Despite Simmons’ slumping offense, one aspect of the Sixers that makes them so competitive is their defense. Entering Monday, the Sixers were second in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 107.2 points per 100 possessions.

The defense came a little unglued in the last two games, allowing Minnesota to score 113 points and watching the Grizzlies shoot 16-for-38 (42.1%) from three-point range.

First up for the Sixers is a disappointing Boston team (25-25), which has won two in a row. The Sixers will get their first look at guard Evan Fournier with the Celtics. He was acquired at the March 25 trade deadline from Orlando.

After a disastrous 0-for-10 shooting debut in Boston’s 115-109 home loss to New Orleans on March 29, Fournier has averaged 15.3 points while shooting 61.1% from three-point range in his last three games.

» READ MORE: The Grizzlies' balanced scoring attack and three-point shooting spree doom the Sixers | Best/worst

The Celtics still don’t seem anywhere near as dangerous as the team that swept the Sixers in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

After Boston, the Sixers play back-to-backs Friday in New Orleans and Saturday at Oklahoma City. The road trip ends Monday at Dallas before the Sixers face Brooklyn in an Eastern Conference showdown on April 14 at the Wells Fargo Center.

Notes: Tyrese Maxey, who was ruled out of Sunday’s game with Memphis due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test result, was cleared to travel with the team to Boston after receiving negative results from his two most recent COVID tests, according to a team official. Maxey is listed as probable against Boston.

George Hill, who had right thumb surgery on Feb. 2, remains out. Hill was acquired at the March 25 trade deadline from Oklahoma City in a three-team trade that also included New York.