By John Kuehner
The Philadelphia 76ers followed up a deflating loss to Brooklyn with another discouraging performance on December twenty-six, falling 109–102 to the Chicago Bulls. This one hurt more because it was there late and slipped away completely. The problems weren’t subtle. Poor shooting, soft interior defense, and a total lack of clarity in crunch time turned a winnable road game into another warning sign.
A Familiar Game Script Unfolds
Philadelphia led for most of the night and was still up 102–99 with under three minutes remaining. From that point on, everything stopped. The Bulls closed the game on a decisive ten–zero run, while the Sixers didn’t score again. Chicago played with urgency and direction, and Philadelphia looked like a team waiting for a hero instead of executing a plan.
Interior Defense Collapsed at the Worst Time
The moment that flipped the building — and the game — was Jalen Smith driving baseline and dunking directly on Joel Embiid. That play symbolized the larger issue. Chicago finished with forty-eight points in the paint and consistently punished late rotations and soft help. Even with Embiid on the floor, the Sixers struggled to protect the rim or close defensive possessions with rebounds.
Cold Shooting Continues to Drag Everything Down
This loss followed the same blueprint as the Nets game. Philadelphia shot just three for fifteen from three and nineteen for fifty overall in the first half, finishing the night at thirty-eight percent from the field and twenty-eight percent from deep. Missed open looks allowed Chicago to load the paint without consequence. Once the jumpers stopped falling, the offense slowed to a crawl and became painfully predictable.
The Big Three Played Well — and That’s the Problem
Tyrese Maxey, Embiid, and Paul George all played well individually, and that’s what makes this loss more concerning. The Sixers are now 0–4 when all three share the floor, not because they’re bad together, but because the team doesn’t yet have an identity when they’re all out there. In crunch time, there’s no clear direction — is it an Embiid post, a Maxey downhill attack, or a George isolation? That uncertainty is why the offense sputtered late, possessions bled clock, and nothing came easily when it mattered most.
Big Picture Pressure Is Building Fast
A few episodes ago, I talked about this group as a potential Eastern Conference Finals team. Right now, that confidence is shaken. The Sixers are in the middle of a five-game road trip and haven’t shown they can consistently close games against playoff-level competition. A trip to Oklahoma City to face Oklahoma City Thunder is next, and with no offensive identity in late-game situations, the question becomes unavoidable: will this group figure it out, or are they staring at a play-in ceiling?
This wasn’t just a missed opportunity — it was a fork-in-the-road type of loss. The talent is obvious, but direction matters just as much, and right now the Sixers are still searching for theirs. If you enjoy this kind of Sixers breakdown, make sure you’re subscribed to the RTDB newsletter so you don’t miss the weekly write-ups. And if you want the full conversation — the debates, reactions, and context you can’t always fit on the page — that’s exactly what we do every week on the Ring The Damn Bell podcast.
