Winning cures everything in the NBA. Losing brings microscopes and pitchforks and sometimes leaky taps from a locker room. Especially if there is an early season media cycle where feed is urgently needed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade candidacy and Milwaukee’s struggles were all the rage before the Bucks won four of five. Yet Joel Embiid and Philadelphia remain stuck in the cellar of the Eastern Conference. So when ESPN reported details Tuesday morning from the 76ers’ team meeting following Monday night’s blown lead in Miami, a league player close to Philadelphia’s All-Star center told me, “Joel will be furious.” And that Embiid would try to find the alleged traitor to the Sixers.