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  • The Sixers’ Biggest Problem That the Box Score Can’t Explain – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

    Third-Quarter Woes and Late-Game Struggles

    Another heartbreaking loss for the Philadelphia 76ers, this time a 120-117 thriller against the Atlanta Hawks on December 14, 2025, left fans reeling from familiar frustrations. A controversial missed backcourt violation in the closing moments sealed the defeat, but the issues run deeper than one call. As of December 17, 2025, the Sixers sit at 14-11, a respectable record on paper with a potent offense ranking among the league’s top 10 in points per game. Yet, subtle flaws continue to undermine this talented roster, problems that don’t always show up in the stat sheet.

    Early in the season, third-quarter collapses plagued Philadelphia, with the team routinely outscored coming out of halftime. Adjustments seemed to pay off recently—they won the third quarter in their victory over the Indiana Pacers—but lapses persist. Defensive miscues, struggles to control the pace, and late-game execution have cost them in tight contests. The recent Hawks game highlighted over-reliance on hero ball down the stretch, even as Paul George erupted for a season-high 35 points on efficient 11-of-21 shooting, including 7-of-10 from three.

    What’s holding back the Sixers?

    Integrating Joel Embiid and Paul George back into the lineup has been a process. Both stars are flashing vintage form: Embiid dropped a season-high 39 points against the Pacers, while George has looked increasingly explosive. But health remains a concern. Tyrese Maxey missed the Hawks game with an illness, and Kelly Oubre Jr. continues recovering from a knee issue, though he’s progressing with on-court activities. Depth players like Trendon Watford are also working back, thinning the rotation at times.

    On the surface, the Sixers look fine—loaded with talent, high-scoring, and rebounding well. Their young core, including standout rookie VJ Edgecombe, adds athleticism and potential. But chemistry is still building around Embiid, George, and Maxey. Roles are being defined, and the transition from individual brilliance to cohesive team play takes time, especially with a mix of veterans and youth.

    Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

    Late-game decision-making stands out as a recurring culprit.

    Too often, the offense devolves into isolation plays that work in spurts but falter when opponents clamp down. Defensively, rotations lag, and pace control slips, allowing runs that flip momentum. These intangibles—execution under pressure, defensive communication, and halftime adjustments—are the hidden drags on this team’s ceiling.

    The good news? The pieces are there for a deep playoff run.

    Embiid and George are turning back the clock with high-level performances, and as health stabilizes, the Sixers should climb the Eastern Conference standings. If they iron out third-quarter woes, sharpen late-game poise, and let chemistry gel, this group has championship upside.

    It’s been a rollercoaster start—ups highlighted by dominant wins, downs marked by agonizing close losses. The talent is undeniable; now it’s about clarity and consistency. With the core intact and emerging youth contributing, Philadelphia has everything needed for a strong second half and a legitimate playoff push.

    Trust the process—again—but this time, the payoff feels closer than ever.

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    Jake Mayson

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  • RECAP: Philly College Hoops In-Season Once Again, as St Joe’s Takes Down Drexel, 76-65 – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Credit: Drexel Men’s Basketball-Twitter/X

    This weekend,  the Steve Donahue Era began at St. Joseph’s with another thrilling chapter in Philadelphia Collegiate Basketball History — a 76–65 defeat of Drexel on the Hawks’ Campus.

    But neither the new basketball chapter nor only the second game of a new season was the most exciting part of Saturday at Hagan Arena for Hawks fans.

    Credit: Drexel Men’s Basketball-Twitter/X

    With just under six minutes left in the contest,  St. Joe’s (2–0) went on a 16–5 run to hand Drexel its first loss of the season. Spearheading that run  was former LaSalle transfer Deuce Jones II.

    Jones came off the St. Joseph’s bench to score twenty-nine points, including twelve converted free throws and a perfect 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.

    Drexel (1–1) was led by a double-double from Guard Villiam Garcia Adsten.

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    Michael Thomas Leibrandt

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  • Exit on Hawk Hill: Billy Lange Leaves St. Joeseph’s for New York Knicks – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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    Credit: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images

    For most sports and their teams ,  fall is a chance to start anew.

    PHOTO: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images

    And for college basketball programs ,  a chance to plan for the beginning of a season that will complement and add to the excitement of the college football matchups in the fall.

    Unfortunately for St. Joseph’s Basketball ,  it’s been a tumultuous past few weeks to say the least.

    After 22–13 record last season — Head Coach Billy Lange has resigned and taken a job with the Knicks.

    As a result of his departure ,  St. Joe’s Basketball will not be attending the 2025 Players’ Era Showcase. 

    The Player’s Era Showcase is a college basketball tournament held annually by MGM Resorts International. The tournament itself is part of a larger festival — which also affords players name, image, and likeness opportunities (NIL.)

    Each participating team will earn substantial compensation (i.e. $1 Million per team). Those funds can then be provided to players for approved (NCAA-compliant) activities.

    The team will play the 2025 season; however, the first game will be on November 3rd against Lafayette.

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    Michael Thomas Leibrandt

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  • Trae Young and Mikal Bridges’ epic overtime battle ends with Hawks’ 147-145 win over Nets

    Trae Young and Mikal Bridges’ epic overtime battle ends with Hawks’ 147-145 win over Nets

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    On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Nets’ Mikal Bridges and the Hawks’ Trae Young both feasted in an instant-classic, back-and-forth overtime battle.

    In the end, Young emerged as the holiday hero.

    The 6-1 Young’s stepback jumper over 6-10 Nets center Nic Claxton with 18 seconds remaining in the extra period proved to be the game-winner in the Hawks’ 147-145 victory in Atlanta.

    Young’s 19-foot shot put the Hawks up, 144-143, marking the biggest basket in a 43-point explosion by the two-time All-Star. It was enough to spoil a similarly dominant outing by Bridges, who tied his career-high with 45 points – including 25 after the third quarter.

    Bridges scored 11 points in overtime. Young had 14. An exhilarating four-possession stretch during the final 1:11 saw one of them score each time down the floor, with the lead changing every time. There were 27 lead changes in the game.

    “In basketball, there’s one winner and one loser,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said afterward. “That’s just part of it every night.”

    The Nets had multiple chances to tie or win the game in overtime. With eight seconds remaining and Brooklyn down one point, Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu blocked Bridges’ driving lay-up attempt. Then, with 2.2 seconds to go and the Nets down two, a busted play led to an inbound pass to Lonnie Walker IV, who was far away from the basket and ultimately failed to get a shot off in time.

    “Last possession was for Mikal,” Vaughn said. “Pretty good look. They switched the last screen that we had, which brought Lonnie to the basketball.”

    Both teams, meanwhile, could have iced the game in regulation. Cam Johnson put the Nets ahead, 131-130, with 3.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter when he tipped in a missed lay-up by Bridges.

    Young responded by drawing a foul on Spencer Dinwiddie, giving the Hawks star a chance to clinch the game with two free throws. But Young, an 89.7% free-throw shooter, missed the first before making the second, tying the score, 131-131. Atlanta began the game 20-for-20 from the free-throw line before Young’s miss.

    Bridges led a balanced Brooklyn attack in which four starters finished with more than 20 points. Dinwiddie scored 26 to go with 12 assists, while Claxton added a season-best 22 points along with 11 rebounds.

    Johnson, who missed seven games with a calf strain, scored a season-high 23 points and made a season-best five three-pointers. He did not play in overtime, however, with Vaughn saying afterward the sharpshooting forward began cramping at the end of regulation.

    “He should be OK,” Vaughn said.

    Bridges scored 14 fourth-quarter points. It was the fourth 40-point game of his career, with each coming after he was traded to the Nets in the February deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix.

    “We just had to keep fighting,” Bridges said. “That was everybody in the huddle. Coaches, players. We just got to keep going. There’s no quit. We just kept fighting, fighting, and almost had it.”

    A night removed from a 157-152 loss to Indiana, the Hawks didn’t look like a team playing the second game of back-to-back. Young got off to a torrid start, beginning the game 6-of-6 from three-point range during a 19-point first quarter.

    The Hawks scored 45 points in that opening period, marking the most points the Nets have surrendered in a first quarter this season. That included a 13-0 run by the Hawks, who scored 11 fastbreak points in the quarter.

    Atlanta finished with 18 fastbreak points to the Nets’ nine. Both teams entered Wednesday ranked top five in transition scoring, though the Nets’ production in that category has dipped considerably without tempo-pushing point guard Ben Simmons (lower-back nerve impingement) in the lineup the last two weeks.

    The Hawks entered Wednesday third in the NBA in scoring, averaging 122.4 points per game, but ranked 25th in allowing 120.9 points to opponents. The Nets – whose leading scorer, Cam Thomas (ankle sprain), missed his sixth straight game – took advantage of the Hawks’ porous defense, exceeding the 133 points they put up in Charlotte last month to set a new season-high.

    It wasn’t enough to overcome Young, who caught fire for the second night in a row. He scored 38 points on 13-of-17 shooting in Tuesday’s game against the Pacers, which marked the seventh time in NBA history both teams scored at least 150 points in regulation.

    Wednesday extended the Nets’ season-worst losing streak to three games. They fell to 6-8 and are now 3-1 against teams who entered with a losing record. The Hawks improved to 7-7.

    “We’ve got a good little chemistry,” Bridges said. “We’ve just got to figure out, defensively, what team we’re trying to be and figure out what we can do to not give up 147 points.”

    Next up for the Nets is a five-game homestand, which begins Saturday night when they host the Heat at Barclays Center.

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    Peter Sblendorio

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  • Julius Randle arrives, Knicks survive in Atlanta to defeat Hawks in 116-114 thriller

    Julius Randle arrives, Knicks survive in Atlanta to defeat Hawks in 116-114 thriller

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    ATLANTA — Julius Randle spun on the low block, pump-faked, then jumped into Hawks’s defender Saddiq Bey, warding Bey’s block attempt with one arm and double-pumping the basketball with the other for the off-handed bank shot.

    The whistle blew shortly after for the and-one.

    Randle shrugged his shoulders, as if to shed Bey’s body weight. Then he had some words for a fan sitting court side before stepping to the line and hitting his free throw.

    Two possessions later, Quentin Grimes had a dunk attempt blocked at the rim with less than three seconds left on the shot clock. Randle received the inbounds pass, then immediately rifled a no-look pass to a cutting Isaiah Hartenstein, who finished at the rim for an and-one of his own.

    A night like this has been a long time coming for Randle, who endured one of the worst opening-season stretches imaginable after enduring offseason ankle surgery.

    It’s safe to say Randle is back, and with his All-Star caliber play, so are the Knicks, who defeated the Hawks, 116-114, in front of an electric State Farm Arena crowd on Wednesday.

    The victory wasn’t without its theatrics — Randle and Hawks star Trae Young jawed back and forth and were separated by Isaiah Hartenstein, who shoved Young in the direction of his bench.

    The victory also came with its fair share of anxiety. The Hawks, on tired legs in the second leg of a back-to-back, trailed by as many as 13, and made a ferocious comeback in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as seven on a late-game run after Quentin Grimes checked himself out of the game with an apparent hand injury.

    The Knicks survived, securing their fourth win in their last five games to improve to an above-.500 record of 6-5.

    Randle had help, none from the officials, who awarded the Knicks with just nine free throws to 24 for the Hawks. With no RJ Barrett, who is day-to-day with a migraine, Josh Hart got the start — but Immanuel Quickley played the featured scoring role as the third head of the Knicks’ offensive attack.

    Randle finished with a game-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Brunson added another 24 points and eight assists of his own. Quickley’s shooting — 20 points off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting from the field — swung the game.

    So did Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding.

    Robinson finished with more rebounds (15) than both Hawks centers Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu combined (nine).

    The starting Knicks big man also impacted Hawks guard Dejounte Murray on a driving layup that would have given the Hawks a 109-108 lead with 1:51 to go in the fourth quarter.

    With less than a minute left, Randle missed a turnaround fading shot, but Robinson created an extra possession with Josh Hart the beneficiary of the offensive rebound. Hart gave the ball to Brunson, who drove baseline, then dished a no-look swipe pass to the cutting Randle, who hit a layup to five the Knicks the lead.

    On the ensuing possession, Brunson his Hawks forward Deandre Hunter with an in-and-out dribble then stopped-and-popped at the foul line for a dagger two that gave the Knicks a three-point lead with 18.8 seconds left.

    Hawks fans rose to their feet for what felt like an eternity. Murray finished with just 12 points but made a driving layup that made it a one-point game with 15 seconds left. The Hawks sent Immanuel Quickley to the line, and he made both free throws.

    Then out of the timeout, Hawks shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic — who had a team-high 28 points — up-chucked an ill-advised fading three with 15 seconds left on the clock. It air-balled, all but sealing defeat for the Hawks at home.

    Until DiVincenzo was whistled for a five-second violation while attempting to inbound the ball.

    Up three, the Knicks intentionally fouled Murray, who made the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second before the Hawks were whistled for a lane violation.

    The Knicks now travel to Washington, D.C., for a matchup with the Wizards before traveling to Charlotte for the second leg of a back-to-back against the Hornets.

    It’s clear Randle is back after a slow start to the season. And with him go the Knicks hopes for a deep playoff run.

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    Kristian Winfield

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  • This former Fed insider has 3 big takeaways from Powell’s press conference

    This former Fed insider has 3 big takeaways from Powell’s press conference

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    This former Fed insider has 3 big takeaways from Powell’s press conference

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  • No Fed official expects an interest-rate cut to be appropriate this year, meeting minutes show

    No Fed official expects an interest-rate cut to be appropriate this year, meeting minutes show

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    None of the 19 top Federal Reserve officials expect it will be appropriate to cut interest rates this year, according to the minutes of the central bank’s December policy meeting, which were released Wednesday.

    Fed officials welcomed recent inflation data that showed reductions in the monthly pace of price increases but wanted to see a lot more evidence of progress to be convinced inflation was on a sustained downward path, the minutes indicated.

    Investors who trade in the federal funds futures market expect the Fed to start reducing interest rates this summer.

    Fed officials said that if markets start to ease financial conditions, especially if driven by a misperception of how the Fed was responding to the data, that “would complicate” the Fed effort to restore price stability.

    Officials downshifted to a 50-basis-point rate increase at the Dec. 13-14 meeting, after four straight moves of 75 basis points. That puts their benchmark rate in a range between 4.25% to 4.5%. A number of Fed officials said it was important to stress that raising rates at a slower pace was not a sign of any “weakening” in the Fed’s resolve to bring inflation down to 2% or a judgement that inflation was already on a downward path.

    Seventeen of 19 Fed officials said they expected rates to rise above 5% this year. Officials penciled in the high end of the interest-rate range at 5.25%, with seven officials penciling in even higher rates.

    This is well above market-based measures of Fed policy-rate expectations.

    Earlier on Wednesday. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he would like to see the Fed hike interest rates to 5.4% before pausing.

    Read: Fed’s Kashkari backs more rate hikes at next few meetings

    Investors see the high end of the Fed’s interest-rate range hitting 5.25% this summer and then retreating.

    Fed officials said upside risks to inflation remained a “key factor” in shaping policy.

    The market expects the Fed to downshift to a 25-basis-point hike at their next meeting, slated for Jan. 31- Feb.1.

    Officials said they are trying to balance two risks — doing too little and adding fuel to inflation and raising rates too high and and lead to an “unnecessary reduction” in economic activity.

    Stocks
    SPX,
    +0.75%
     
    DJIA,
    +0.40%
    were higher on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
    TMUBMUSD10Y,
    3.687%
    slipped to 3.7%.

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