Another week has passed in the NBA, and the Sixers have played three more games. As January turned to February, the league is slowly but surely moving towards the playoffs, and the Sixers are still sitting in the middle of the pack of playoff-bound teams. Coming in with a 31-19 record, Philadelphia is still a game behind the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Lakers last weekend, the Sixers hosted the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday before heading on the road to take on the Hawks and the Celtics. So, how did the Sixers do this past week, and what is their upcoming schedule looking like?

On January 28, the Sixers faced the struggling Warriors, who currently boast the worst record in the league, sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with an 11-39 record. After winning 57 games last season and losing in The Finals, the Warriors have truly fallen off; it seems that the Golden State dynasty, which grew to dominate the league through the 2010s, has come to an end (at least for now). Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL in last year’s finals. Kevin Durant was lost in free agency. Then Steph Curry broke his hand early on this season. The Warriors have suffered huge blows to their lineup in the last year, and they are truly feeling the effects. That being said, the Sixers were expected to win this game, and indeed they did. Joel Embiid, back from injury, led the charge with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Simmons added another 17 points, while Raul Neto scored 20 off the bench. For the Warriors, D’Angelo Russel had 28 points with 5 rebounds. Glenn Robinson III had 20 points and Marquese Chriss had 15; however, Draymond Green only had 9. With many starters injured, Green is looked up as a leader of the team and will have to put up better numbers in the ensuing weeks if the Warriors have any hope of winning a couple of games, although at this point they are really only playing for pride. With that win, the Sixers recorded their 31st win of the season and continued to remain in playoff contention. However, they then had to head on the road to begin their 4 game road trip, a time that will certainly bring hardship for a team that has not played well on the road all season.

Last Thursday, the Sixers traveled to Atlanta to play the Hawks, who are bringing up the rear of the Eastern Conference with a 13-37 record. Although this game seemed like it should be a fairly easy win for the Sixers, their track history on the road suggested otherwise. In the end, that history ended up being right: the Sixers lost 127-117, a huge blow for a team that is looking to make a statement as one of the dominant teams from the east. This is Atlanta’s 4th win against the Sixers in their last 5 meetings, continuing to prove just how tough of a matchup the Hawks are for the Sixers. The Sixers looked sluggish out of the gate, allowing Hawks second-year star Trae Young to score 39 points and record 18 assists, leading the charge for Atlanta. Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 31 points, but his efforts were not enough. As the Sixers dropped another on the road, they had to look forward to the next matchup: heading to Boston to take on the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics sit at third in the Eastern Conference, 33-15 on the season. Led by Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward, the Celtics are 20-5 at their home, TD Garden. Opposing teams have struggled to win there all season long, and it was no exception for the Sixers. The Sixers lost by 21 points, 116-95. Embiid played one of the worst games of his career, shooting 1-11 from the field and 0-4 from three, finishing with 11 points in total (9 of which were from the free-throw line). Ben Simmons dropped 23 points to lead the Sixers, and Furkan Korkmaz had 14 himself. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 32 and 25 points, respectively. 3 other Celtics recorded double-digit points, propelling Boston to a comfortable victory over the Sixers.

The Sixers’ road struggles continue to plague them, and it will definitely need to be addressed as the season comes closer to the end. However, this rest of this road trip will prove to be a great test for the team. They travel to Miami tomorrow night before heading to Milwaukee on Thursday. Friday night, the Sixers will be back in Philadelphia against the Grizzlies. This week will prove to be a test for the Sixers, so let’s see if they can snap their 2-game skid and get back in the win column!