This is not a situation the Philadelphia 76ers and their fans expected to be in at the start of the 2023-24 season.
Philadelphia is hosting the Miami Heat Wednesday in an attempt to advance to the NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks this coming weekend.
The 76ers finished this past regular season with a 47-35 record and as the seventh seed back east. A lot of that had to do with reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid missing 29 games in the second half of the season. Philadelphia posted a mere 11-18 record during that span.
Fans inside Wells Fargo Center in Philly were ready to go as the 76ers hosted Miami in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The same thing can’t be said about Sixers players themselves. Philly opened up a 20-14 lead before being outscored 37-19 for the remainder of the first half.
The Sixers committed 10 turnovers. Those accounted for 17 Heat points as the home team found itself down 51-39 after two quarters. It led to boo-birds coming out in full force. The scene was not pretty.
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Philadelphia 76ers fans boo team after disastrous first-half performance
Those watching the game from home noticed that the boo-birds were fully out. It can’t be considered too much of a surprise given that fans in Philly had previously booed Santa Claus and Phillies legend Mike Schmidt. But it did not go unnoticed.