Time, and good health, will tell us, and them, just who the Sixers are

It's almost an exercise in futility, so save yourself the frustration if you're trying to figure out just who this Sixers team is.

President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey put the group together and probably has hopes for what it may be, but he doesn't really know. Nor does coach Nick Nurse, who has been saddled with throwing out 19 starting lineups for his 25-21 team. The players go out and try to play each and every night, but they don't know who they are going to be playing with most of the time.

Sometimes it seems pretty good, like on Tuesday night when they thumped the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks, riding the offensive powers of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. Other nights it's somewhat unrecognizable, partly due to a bad style of play and partly because players just haven't played the roles in which they are being forced. And when it starts to get closer to resembling what the organization envisioned, it fades away like many third quarter leads.

"We definitely needed this one," said Nurse following the 139-122 win over the Bucks.

"We seem to have kind of ups and downs, some really good moments followed by some not so good. You can blame it on stuff if you want to. Just a week ago we played a really great game, I thought, physically and execution-wise against Houston. And then we lose a tough game, mostly because we couldn't get any rebounds, against the Knicks, but played pretty well. It was super important that we righted the ship and got back to playing better and feeling a little bit better."

Sustainability has been a problem for the team all season, and yes, much of that has to do with the inconsistencies of availability. There are times when you can see the vision Morey had with this group, when Embiid and George can play with a good amount of health, which opens up so much of the court for Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe and returned starter Kelly Oubre, Jr. That group would appear to be able to compete with any team in the Eastern Conference, especially if a bench of Adem Bona, Quentin Grimes, Jared McCain and others can just contribute what's required of them.

Tuesday was a pretty good blueprint of how the Sixers would like to be seen the rest of the season. Embiid began the game with 18 first quarter points, but also was instrumental in perimeter ball movement. Maxey kept the pace going in the second with 10 points and three assists while playing every minute, and then when the usual third quarter lull enveloped the team early, George took over. He scored 16 points in the frame, 10 in a row at one point, and drilled four three-pointers as the Sixers opened a 106-95 lead after Milwaukee had tied the game. Philadelphia closed it out in the fourth, mostly with Embiid on the bench, as McCain drilled four three-pointers to help close out the game.

"We would love for this to be a nightly thing," said George, who tied a club record with his nine threes on Tuesday. "But, my thing is giving up 122. Yeah, we scored 140 (well, 139), but to give up 122 to a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less team, that's more my concern. Offensively, it is what it is. We'll be able to score the ball. I'm not happy about giving up 122.

"I think we're right there with the New York Knicks, with the Clevelands. I think we're right in the mix when things are clicking and we're playing the right way and we're firing on all cylinders. We still have the one unguardable player and that's the trump card. So, yeah, absolutely we've got a chance."

So why isn't it seen more?

"I'm not sure," George said. "Some games are just flat. Some games it just doesn't flow as it should. I wish I could pinpoint why. But it's the NBA. Some games the ball rolls that way and our job is to try to be on the same page as much as possible."

Which undoubtedly goes hand-in-hand with being available as much as possible. George has missed 20 games as he's managing a left knee injury. Embiid has also missed 20 for the season, but has played in 12 of the team's last 16 games and seems to be moving around the court as well as he has in three seasons. There is no question about that and it even had the big man catching and finishing a rare alley-oop from Maxey on Tuesday.

"It means everything," Embiid said of feeling healthy. "Obviously, it gets me emotional. The (past) two years have been tough. Can't take it for granted. Happy to be on the floor every night."

Last week, Maxey alluded that beginning a game with the starting lineup of himself, Embiid, George, Edgecombe and Oubre, Jr. was like a practice, because those five have rarely been on the court together all season. Against Milwaukee, they had a really good "practice" session. Now, the hope is to do it more and benefit from it as the playoffs crawl closer.