LOS ANGELES – Things didn’t get 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 in a row to fall to 1-7 on the season and finished an 0-3 road trip with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid sidelined in the final.

Rookie Jared McCain led the way for the Sixers as the Southern California native had 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 lessons after the loss:

George must be a goalscorer

This is a work in progress, so George can get a bit of a pass, but the Sixers need more than just nine points in a situation that includes both Maxey and Embiid. Philadelphia is confident he will be the go-to guy at this point and nine points won’t be enough. The Sixers record eight assists without a turnover. That’s great, but that’s not what they need right now.

Coach Nick Nurse believed he didn’t have the best night on Friday.

“He clearly had a rough night, right?” The nurse said after the loss. “I thought he looked good. I thought he had a couple of drives. I thought he had quite a few pushbacks. I don’t know if he shot a free throw. He shot two free throws. I thought he probably could have done.” came on the line a few more times. He passed the ball pretty well. Again, I think he still offends other people, right? that self.”

Guerschon Yabusele deserves a permanent rotation spot

You have to believe that Yabusele will get a permanent rotation spot as things stand. He had two strong games on this road trip as he scored an NBA career-high 19 points against the Phoenix Suns to start the trip and then 14 on Friday against the Lakers. He provides more spacing than Drummond because of his shooting ability and he knows where to be defensively. He has a high IQ and can read and anticipate excellently defensively.

“He’s played pretty well almost every game, right?” Nurse stated. “He’s finding enough perimeter shots and making enough. Again, he’s not making a lot of mistakes, which is huge for us right now, right? Again, he’s going to get the ball to someone when he’s on offense to keep the offense going. ” He will play very hard, but he has been good.”

Jared McCain makes a statement

McCain said during training on Thursday that he wants to show what he can do with Maxey currently sidelined. He did that with his offense on Friday. The rookie really scored on all three levels. He went 4-for-9 from deep, scored in the midrange and got to the basket with some tough finishes. The defensive end of the court needs work, but the No. 16 pick of the 2024 NBA draft is getting better by the game.

“I think the more experience, like anything, the more experience you get, you’ll feel more comfortable,” McCain said after the loss. “For me, I think that’s what it is. Things start to slow down. I know what shots to take. Even now I’m still learning: You can’t go that far. You’re going to get your stuff blocked. AD (Anthony Davis), I think Jaxson Hayes got me, but I’m going to continue to learn from it and work on those little floats where I can just get into the midrange and then obviously, obviously continue to practice the 3s.”

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 key insights from Sixers’ fifth straight loss to Lakers