Jimmy Butler helps Sixers beat Magic

The 76ers can finish no worse than .500…which would be an epic collapse and failure if that was the case. But, in all seriousness, the Sixers picked up their 41st win of the season by beating the Orlando Magic 114-106 Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

This was the sixth game in a row the Sixers were without Joel Embiid because of left knee soreness, and unless something changes, Embiid will miss Wednesday night's game in Chicago as well, as Brett Brown said he wouldn't be making the flight after Tuesday's game. 

Here are my observations from victory No. 41.

Sixers Need Embiid

Forgive me for leading off with a negative, and I know what you're thinking—"No Duh!" But, why bury the lead. Tuesday was another obvious indication why Embiid needs to return as soon as he can.

"We rested him after (Monday's practice)," Brown said pregame. "I think he did some light core work, but in relation to doing more of the same (Monday), he did not do that." 

Embiid expected to be back this week, but that's still up in the air. 

"I hope so," Brown said. "But it would be reckless to declare it official. I believe that there's a chance that he may meet us in Houston. We'll judge that." 

Brown doesn't know when exactly Embiid will return. For most of Tuesday night, it seemed like the Sixers were well on their way to  a comfortable win over the Magic without Embiid, leading by 12 after three quarters. Then, the 76ers went cold and Orlando came back, cutting the deficit to one, while failing on multiple opportunities to take the lead.

In fairness, Orlando has played much better lately, but they're still an inferior team to the 76ers. Thus, the sooner Embiid plays games, the better everything will be.

The Curious Case of Jimmy Butler 

The 76ers gave up a lot to get Jimmy Butler. They need to find a way to bring Jimmy Butler back next season after he likely opts out for free agency, but they need to do so at the right price, and possibly not a max contract. Sometimes Butler plays like a max contract player. Other times he doesn't. When it mattered most against Orlando, he did. 

Butler needs to be more aggressive, such as when he took over in crunch time after the Sixers gave up their double digit lead. It's one thing to be unselfish. It's another thing to not take shots.

"I just play basketball the right way," Butler said. "When I'm open, I shoot it. When I'm not, I pass it. As long as we win I'm cool with it."

Butler took only 10 shots on the night, just one in the first half, finishing with 14 points, a lot of which came down the stretch.

LATE GAME BUCKETS pic.twitter.com/GoFukhQBBB

"The game speaks," Brown said. "And we have firepower...The ball moved, people played, the game speaks and that' show it played out. And I give (Jimmy) more credit then I do anything." 

"My teammates have a lot of confidence in me to take and make shots late," Butler said. "That's what I'm worried about." 

Good for Butler for taking matters into his own hands, but why not do so early and avoid a nail biting situation? 

Redick Busts Out of Slump

JJ Redick scores a game-high 26 points shooting six for nine from three point range in the win over Orlando. #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/DQLPqTZ8RT

JJ Redick was in the rut of ruts prior to Tuesday night, and Embiid's absence in the previous five games certainly didn't help the process to break out of those struggles.

Well, the veteran sharp shooter wasted no time busting out of his slump with eight early points, 10 in the first quarter and 19 by halftime. 

"Got some great words of encouragement from a few different people over the couple days, including my wife, which is very rare," Redick said. "She does not really care about basketball, but she was nice enough to give me some encouragement.

"I had a good 24 hours on Sunday, and part of Monday, building Legos with my sons," Redick said, "and that's always therapeutic as well." 

He eventually cooled off, finishing with 26, but none the less, it was a good night for the veteran from Duke.

Ben and Tobi Connection

A lot has been made of the excellent two-man game between Embiid and Redick. However, it's also hard to ignore the fast developing chemistry between Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. One often finds the other leading to fluid, in rhythm offensive success.

Simmons tallied 16 points with 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Harris scored 21 points with 11 rebounds. 

"He plays with just a tremendous amount of grace," Brown said of Harris. "He really does. There is a sort of quiet assassin that just sort of moves." 

Harris has scored at least 20 points in seven straight games and eight out of nine. Who knows where the Sixers would be without him as Embiid sits out with this latest injury. 

Limiting Vucevic

Former Sixer Nic Vucevic is an All-Star because coming into Tuesday night he averaged 20.7 points per game and 12 rebounds per game.

It was ominous news pregame to hear the Sixers would be missing not only Embiid and Boban Marjanovic, but also Jonah Bolden, leaving Amir Johnson, who was questionable Monday due to lower back tightness, to start, with Justin Patton making his Sixers debut in what was only his second NBA game ever. Patton came over injured in the Butler trade.

But, credit is due when credit is deserved. The Sixers bigs did very well against Vucevic, who scored only 12 points.

Sports Illustrated Cover Curse?

Forgive me if this is extremely belated, but is it fair to say the Sixers are victims of the Sports Illustrated cover curse?

This week's cover: Processing...Re-previewing the Eastern Conference: The real season starts now https://t.co/FJ0TQ8xNKe pic.twitter.com/Y8e0905rpf

The reason I bring this up is a large poster of the Sixers "Process This" Sports Illustrated cover that came out after the All-Star Game was propped up in the Sixers Media Room. It reminded me that Embiid hasn't played since that thing was published.

Just saying.