It goes without saying that this is probably not the case. Philadelphia 76ers They are expected to open the season after the summer they had. The team, which left its two stars behind in the first two weeks, has one of the worst records in the league with 1-4. Following their latest defeat, head coach Nick Nurse revealed what he felt was one of the primary issues for the new-look team.

On Saturday night, the Sixers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies before heading West. Since Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane could not play, they would be missing some important pieces. However, they would get strong performances from unlikely heroes en route to a 124-107 victory over the underdog Sixers.

At the post-match press conference, Nurse was asked about some of his takeaways from the first five games of the season. He gave a long answer about how he felt the team’s on-field connection was still lacking.

We are truly disconnected. From defending his man to getting beaten to coming to help, we don’t have much of a connection, it’s not there. We do that, then the next play won’t be there. Just the connection you need. All five players have a job to do defensively, so it comes down to whether we can secure the rebound. And then I get a feel for where the next pass is on offense.

With so many new items hitting the market this season, growing pains were to be expected. The current situation makes matters worse as the team is missing two focal players.

Developing that unity on the court takes time, but the Sixers need to find a way to stay competitive while doing so. If they continue to dig themselves a deep hole, they may not be able to get out of it when Embiid and George return. However, there is still a lot of basketball to be played this season.

After this loss, the Sixers are now regrouping and heading for the West Coast kick. First up is a meeting with Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.