The Milwaukee Bucks recently secured a 123-109 win against the Philadelphia 76ers, who played without stars Paul George and Joel Embiid.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 34 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists on 13-for 17 shooting from the field, and Damian Lillard had 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four three-pointers on 7-for-17 shooting from the field.
Tyrese Maxey did his best to try and keep the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers afloat, recording 37 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and six three-pointers on 14-for-28 shooting from the field. Guerschon Yabusele (knee) and Andre Drummond (toe) were also absent due to injuries.
With the loss against the Milwaukee Bucks (and recently against the Denver Nuggets), the Philadelphia 76ers now have a 15-27 record, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers symphatizes with the Philadelphia 76ers’ dire situation
Before taking the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job, Doc Rivers coached the Philadelphia 76ers through 2020 to 2023, and he knows what it’s like to play without Joel Embiid in long stretches. Embiid has missed the last nine games due to a knee injury, making it tough for current head coach Nick Nurse.
“You want him to be healthy,” Rivers said via Ky Carlin of the Sixers Wire. “I’ve gone through it, it’s hard to win without your best player, or even when your best player plays and he’s not healthy. It’s just hard. I’ve lived that life.”
“It took a minute. First year we struggled with it. Then after that, we won a lot of games without him, but it’s still not what you want, we kind of found our pace in the games without him, but it’s just hard, it really is, because we used him so heavily,” he added.
