The Sixers have three games remaining in the regular season, beginning with Saturday's contest against the Bulls in Chicago.
Nerlens Noel will not play after spraining his right ankle Wednesday in the Sixers' 29-point loss to the Wizards.
With the season down to its final few contests, here are five observations as the Sixers get ready to wrap things up:
1. Hey, rookie!
Noel will not win the Rookie of the Year award, but he had a heck of a rookie year. In 26 games after the All-Star break, Noel averaged 13.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.2 blocks a night.
How he fares as a power forward playing alongside Joel Embiid remains to be seen. However, the fact that Noel played his best basketball at the end of the season is encouraging because so many rookies hit a wall in February and March.
2. Three for all
Sixers head coach Brett Brown often talks about surrounding a post player like Embiid with strong outside shooters. Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson fit that bill.
Covington averages 6.3 three-point field goal attempts per game. He makes 38.6 percent of those attempts while averaging 13.1 points a night.
Thompson's shooting since the All-Star break is off the charts. He has attempted 96 three-pointers after the break and made 45 of them. He is shooting 46.9 percent from three-point range in those 26 games since All-Star weekend.
3. Sticking to the point?
Ish Smith is hoping his stint with the Sixers will show the organization that he is a worthy backup point guard who should return next season.
Smith is an NBA journeyman. He has played for eight teams over the past five years, but his time with the Sixers is by far his most productive.
In 24 games with the Sixers, Smith has averaged 12.4 points and 6.0 assists in 26.8 minutes per game.
It doesn't hurt Smith's chances of returning that Noel is his biggest fan.
4. Making progress
The Sixers have lost seven straight games and are 18-61 on the season. It is the third consecutive season that the Sixers have had a losing record.
Despite another year of little results in the win column, Brown thinks he and the organization are much further along in their rebuild than a year ago.
"I am saying way better," Brown said. "I look around and see a process in how we do things, how we practice, how they do the recovery, how we travel. The emphasis we put in terms of a flow of a practice. The way I talk to my staff. It is light years different than last year.
"The record will look similar, but the base is solid. I feel like we are building a system and culture that will stand up to the test of time once we start getting pieces, and these guys start getting older and we get some luck."
5. Picky situation
The Sixers could potentially have four first-round picks in the upcoming NBA draft.
However, as of today, they would have just their own pick.
NBA
The Sixers' pick from the Lakers is top-five protected and Los Angeles currently has the NBA's fourth-worst record. There is a 17.2 percent chance that the pick could fall out of the top five.
The Sixers' pick from the Heat is top-10 protected and Miami is sitting right on the league's 10th-worst record. A couple weeks ago, the Heat were in the playoffs and the Sixers had a good shot of getting the pick. That's not the case now. The Sixers have a slim chance of getting this pick.
Lastly, the Sixers' pick from the Thunder is top-18 protected and OKC is holding the 17th-worst mark.
