GREENBURGH, N.Y. _ The NBA put the promising 76ers on the guest list for its Christmas card of games for the first time since 2001, lining them up against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. And then "The Process" finally began making progress after averaging 63 losses over the past four seasons.
Philadelphia began 13-9. Now the record is 14-18 after five straight losses and nine in the last 10 games. Three defeats in the streak came without a player who symbolized the tanking/rebuilding and also tagged himself "The Process." Joel Embiid returned from lower back tightness to play 23 minutes Saturday at Toronto, but the 7-foot center wasn't fully recovered and is questionable for Monday.
So where exactly are the Sixers when it comes to "The Process" (their rebuild)?
"I think a lot of it depends on Embiid's health," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said after Sunday's practice at the MSG Training Center. "When he plays, they're a pretty good team."
The Knicks are, too, at least at home where they're 15-5. They're ready to spend Christmas with the 76ers at 17-15 overall.
It will be the Knicks' league-leading 52nd Christmas game and seventh in eight years.
So where exactly are the Knicks in the first season of their version of "The Process," post-Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson? Well, they're not tanking. They've been a bit ahead of schedule so far, but they're still not near the prime title contenders in Hornacek's eyes.
"We may be a little ahead," Hornacek said. "We still have a lot of things that we need to get better at. ... We're quite a ways from trying to get to the Clevelands and the Golden States and the way Boston has played this year.
"So, again, it's a work in process for all of us. I think it'll be a fun game (Monday)."
Embiid's first two seasons weren't much fun. The 2014 third overall pick sat out both due to a foot injury. Then he played just 31 games last season before a knee injury sidelined him. Now he's averaging 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks.
"As a player, he's obviously one of the best big men in the league," Knicks center Enes Kanter said. "I respect the guy a lot because I don't really see nobody just hurt for three or four years and then coming back and playing at the level he's playing right now."
Philadelphia also features a matchup problem with a 6-10 point guard. After missing last season with a foot injury, rookie Ben Simmons is averaging 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.0 steals. Knicks point guards Jarrett Jack and Frank Ntilikina are 6-3 and 6-5, respectively.
"It's very, very challenging when they post him up," Ntilikina said. "We'll do our best and compete."
The French rookie is excited about his first NBA Christmas game.
"Back in France, I was watching all the Christmas games all the years," Ntilikina said. "So now being a part of it and being able to play it, it means a lot to me."
The expectations were low for Ntilikina's Knicks. Then they began 0-3.
"Everybody thought we were just going to pick the No. 1 pick and we were going to be like the worst team in the NBA," Kanter said. "People don't know how hard we work on this court every day."
The Knicks should soon get a better idea of where they are. Following this game, they tip off a stretch of 16 out of 20 on the road where they're 2-10. Hornacek said he thinks they're "getting there on the road," and that he sees this span not as the crossroads for the season, but as an opportunity for the team "to come together," "grow" and "get into a little rhythm."
Kanter sees it this way: "It's a good challenge for us because if we want to make the playoffs and if we want to go far in the playoffs, if we are thinking about the championship rings, we need to learn how to win on the road."
