There is no denying that the Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed an excellent offseason.
After losing to the New York Knicks in the first round, the 76ers had a makeover in the summer.
After leaving the Los Angeles Clippers for the most productive shooting season of his career, they signed Paul George, a nine-time All-Star. They acquired forward Caleb Martin from the Miami Heat, a role player with considerable postseason game experience. Additionally, they extended the contracts of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, two franchise mainstays, to keep them with the team for the foreseeable future.
It appeared that Philadelphia was finally prepared for the kind of deep playoff run that Embiid, who has never advanced to the conference finals, had yet to experience. The Clippers were earlier led there by George without Kawhi Leonard. Martin also made it to the Heat’s Finals.
The team’s spokesperson since his 2016 debut, Embiid, made it apparent that the playoffs came first. MVP and seven-time All-Star Embiid stated that he did not care about individual honors this season.
“There is no agenda for this year.” “There’s no All-Star or All-NBA,” he declared prior to the season. “I’ve been injured in the playoffs for almost every year of my career. That, I believe, is the objective. Doing whatever it takes to get there is the key.
Nobody anticipated that things would go this terrible, even though the regular season appeared to be neglected.
Up until Thanksgiving, the 76ers were among the weakest teams in the NBA. After losing to the Houston Rockets in overtime on Wednesday, Philadelphia’s record is 3-14, which is the second-worst in the NBA. Additionally, the team has the fourth-worst net rating in the league, which is -8.5, which is calculated by deducting the team’s offensive rating from its defensive rating.
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Embiid, or more precisely, his left knee, is the first source of trouble.
In an effort to keep his knee healthy for the season, Embiid did not play in any five-on-five scrimmages during the 76ers training camp after competing with Team USA at the Olympics in Paris. However, his availability has been inconsistent since he was ruled out of the team’s opening game. In Philadelphia’s first 17 games, he has only made four appearances.
Even worse, George has hyperextended his left knee since missing the season’s opening due to a bone injury. He has only participated in eight games.
To top it all off, Maxey has only participated in 10 games since suffering a hamstring injury.
Despite barely playing six minutes together this season, Embiid, George, and Maxey are hailed as the league’s newest big three.
And given the pasts of George and Embiid, that will be a persistent worry. While George has only participated in more than 60 regular season games once since 2020, Embiid has struggled with both knees throughout his career.
Embiid and George have not performed up to their expectations when they are on the court, in addition to their injury issues.
Embiid is struggling to get through his minutes, scoring 19.8 points per game and shooting just 37.9% from the field. Compared to last season, when he averaged 34.7 points on 52.9% shooting, that represents a significant decline.
George has been even worse, scoring 14.9 points per game while shooting 38.3%. He scored 22.6 points on 47.1% shooting the previous season.
The team has been a circus off the court in addition to its on-court difficulties.
In October, the 76ers received a $100,000 fine from the NBA for making remarks in public that were at odds with Embiid’s knee condition.
Nick Nurse, the head coach, has been blunt with media who want to know Embiid’s condition.
Embiid received a three-game suspension for pushing a local columnist in the locker room after the columnist made a disparaging reference about Embiid’s late brother and kid.
According to leaked information from a team meeting following a defeat to the Heat, Maxey reprimanded Embiid for consistently arriving late for team events. According to reports, Embiid is looking for the leaker. In the meantime, George talked about the incident on his podcast.
From the first time the ball was really tipped on opening night, the entire season has been a complete flop.
A bright spot is that the Eastern Conference is so uninspired that Philadelphia might be just one extended period of normalcy away from being back in the thick of things. The 76ers are only 3.5 games out of 10th place, which would guarantee them a position in the play-in event, despite their difficulties.
However, unless it finishes in the top six, Philadelphia would lose its 2025 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, so it must make a decision soon about whether to compete or pack it in. Thus, there is a chance that the 76ers will forfeit a lottery pick in addition to missing the playoffs.
These first 17 games might just be a passing fad if George and Embiid both go back to their full health. It would be extremely challenging to defeat a core of Embiid, George, Maxey, and outstanding youngster Jared McCain in a seven-game series.
Philadelphia, however, would need to get to the postseason first. And despite their impressive appearance on paper, the 76ers haven’t performed well on the court thus far.
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