CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers aimed to be one of the top defensive teams in the league before the season began. It seemed an attainable goal considering they have an elite defensive center, Joel Embiid, and added tough, defensive-minded players in the offseason.

After an up-and-down start to the season on that end, it appeared the Sixers figured things out in December. They were fourth in defensive rating in the month of December at 111.2 per StatMuse. Then they tumbled to 22nd in defensive rating in the month of January at 119.4 per StatMuse.

They have also had subpar defensive games in February. They allowed the San Antonio Spurs to shoot 58.4% from the floor in a win on Friday, and they struggled in the second, third, and fourth quarters on defense in the loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday.

“Just communication,” said De’Anthony Melton. “We just got to talk. Continue to talk more. I feel like some slippage is not as big as we think it is, but at the same time, we’re giving away possessions that we don’t need to. So I think that type of stuff adds up and I think, if we limit those, we have a lot better chances of winning.”

On top of the defensive issues in the loss to the Knicks, there was also a rebounding issue. New York pulled down six offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter which proved the big difference in the loss.

When asked what the cause was for that, Melton gave his thoughts.

“It’s an effort thing, but at the same time, sometimes it’s a bad bounce,” he stated. “Sometimes their misses just fall into their hands. You can be boxing out and the ball can still go off your back so that type of stuff is just a little bit of effort, but sometimes it’s timing and understanding where to be in position to rebound, honestly.”

Melton and the Sixers will look to right the ship on the defensive end when they take on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday to finish the road trip.