Sixer of the Week: Everything is awesome for the Sixers right now

2023 Sixer of the Week Award Winners:
Joel Embiid - 6
James Harden - 2
Mac McClung - 1

Maxey

Melton

Maxey
Melton

There are babies weeks old in the world who have never seen the Philadelphia 76ers lose a game of basketball. The Sixers have won eight straight games, with the offense shredding apart the opposition like one of the more devious traps in the Saw franchise. The lowest point total for the team in the month of March has been 112, with starters now routinely getting fourth quarters off. Both the Bucks and Celtics are within spitting distance in the Eastern Conference, although it might take something of a magic loogie to reach Milwaukee. Philadelphia went 4-0 since our last Sixer of the Week update. Let’s keep things moving and not draw too much attention to things, as if there’s a no hitter in progress.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Joel Embiid: 34.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.3 steals, 3.5 blocks, 2.8 turnovers

The thesaurus industry is having a resurgence as people look for new ways to describe the greatness of Joel Embiid. This week, Joel overtook Mo Cheeks for eighth on the Sixers’ all-time scoring list. He has scored at least 20 points for 30 straight games, and has nine straight games of 30-plus points, the longest such streak in Sixers history. Remarkably, Embiid has continued to put up these numbers while getting more fourth quarters off than not as of late. That development bodes well for his health holding up through the postseason, and it has also been encouraging to see his defense dialed up on a lot of nights. At long last, he is the much-deserved MVP favorite. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images

James Harden (3 games): 19.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 2.3 steals, 3.0 turnovers

Harden received a load management day Saturday against Indiana, but put in a full week’s worth of work prior to that night off. The Harden-Embiid partnership has levelled up, and after a full calendar year together, the two stars look fully comfortable in knowing the ins and outs of each other’s games. The Beard is also captaining those non-Embiid lineups to great effect. Multiple times this week, we saw Harden and the reserve group extend Sixers leads at the beginning of the fourth quarter, either to render the remainder of the contest garbage time, or create some breathing room in the Cleveland win. Every Ben Simmons train wreck update just makes Harden’s renaissance that much sweeter.

Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images

Tyrese Maxey: 18.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.5 turnovers

It was a hot-and-cold week for Mad Max, shooting below 50 percent from the field in two contests, but also having two games with five made three-pointers apiece. One of those was the Cleveland game, with Tyrese hitting tough, clutch shots against a playoff-caliber opponent. But his weekly opus came Saturday night in Indianapolis, when the 22-year-old put up 22 points in the first half alone, and finished with 31 points to go along with seven assists. All seven of those assists came in the second half, with Maxey leveraging the defensive attention from his first-half scoring outburst to set up his teammates, a nice sign of playmaking growth from the young guard.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

De’Anthony Melton: 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 0.8 turnovers

It wasn’t the most amazing of weeks for Melton, but at the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, I’m placing him here for his six(!) steals last night against the Pacers. I simply love those nights when Melton is flying all over the court as an absolute agent of chaos. He also chipped in with three games this week of at least two threes and five rebounds, filling cracks everywhere in those ideal glue guy ways. He’s a great locker room guy and a perfectly versatile player for postseason environments. I’m still buying De’Anthony Melton stock.