The 3 biggest takeaways from the Sixers losing their 5th straight with a loss to the Lakers

LOS ANGELES – Things didn't go any better for the Philadelphia 76ers in the West. With a 116-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, they have now lost five straight and are 1-7 this season. In the end it was 0-3, while Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid were eliminated in the final.

Rookie Jared McCain led the way for the Sixers as the Southern California native scored 18 points off the bench. Guerschon Yabusele had 14 points and five rebounds, Andre Drummond had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Caleb Martin added 13 and five assists and KJ Martin had 11. Paul George had nine on 4-for-13 shooting and eight assists.

Here are the biggest takeaways after the loss:

George has to be a goalscorer

This is still a work in progress so George can get a little pass, but the Sixers need more than just nine points in a situation where both Maxey and Embiid are sitting. Philadelphia is relying on him to be the right guy right now, and nine points won't be enough. The Sixers received eight assists without losing the ball. That's great, but it's not what they need right now.

Coach Nick Nurse didn't think he had the best night on Friday.

“He obviously had a rough night, didn't he?” the nurse said after the loss. “I thought he had decent looks. I thought he had some drives. I thought he got pushed around quite a bit. I don't know if he shot a free throw. He shot two free throws. I thought he probably got it done. He passed the ball well a few more times, but I think he's still a little rusty himself.”

Guerschon Yabusele deserves a permanent rotation spot

One has to assume that with current developments, Yabusele will get a permanent rotation spot. He had two strong games on this road trip as he scored a career-high 19 points against the Phoenix Suns early in the trip and even scored 14 points against the Lakers on Friday. His shooting ability means he offers more spacing than Drummond and knows where to be defensively. He has a high IQ and has excellent defensive reading and anticipation skills.

“He played pretty well in almost every game, didn't he?” Nurse explained. “He finds enough outside throws and makes enough. Again, he doesn't make many mistakes, which is huge for us at the moment, right? Again, when he's on offense, he's going to get the ball to someone to keep the offense going. “He's going to play really hard, but he's been good.”

Jared McCain makes a statement

McCain said at practice on Thursday that he wants to show what he can do with Maxey currently sidelined. That’s exactly what he did with his offense on Friday. The rookie really scored on all three levels. He was 4 of 9 from deep, scoring from mid-range and making some difficult shots to get to the basket. The defensive side of the floor needs work, but the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft is getting better every game.

“I think the more experience you have – like anything else, the more experience you get, the more comfortable you feel,” McCain said after the loss. “For me, I think it is. Things start to slow down. I know what shots I need to take. Even now, I'm still learning that you can only go so far. You're going to get your stuff.” AD (Anthony Davis), I think Jaxson Hayes got me, but I'm going to continue to learn from it and work on the little pull-ups that I'm doing right now in the middle range and then of course continue, of course, continue practice the 3s.”

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 big takeaways from Sixers falling to 5th in a row with loss to Lakers