Terrible, free-falling Sixers must now defy gravity originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The conventional wisdom is that NBA seasons are long and full of inevitable ups and downs.
To start this season, the 2-12 Sixers have done almost nothing but fall straight down a steep hill, with dire results. Now it looks like they’ll have to defy gravity to change the narrative of an absurd, miserable season.
The Wizards, who are on a nine-game losing streak and have four players 20 years old or younger averaging at least 25 minutes per game, have a better record than the Sixers. Every NBA team does.
As has long been the case during Joel Embiid’s time in Philadelphia, injury bad luck has been rampant. Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George played once together… technically. George exited the Sixers’ loss Wednesday night to the Grizzlies with a hyperextended left knee.
The clichés about chemistry and rhythm being harder to build on injured teams are true.
“A different band playing every night,” George said after losing last week to the Magic. “It’s still an ongoing process of figuring this all out for everyone. But again, it’s no excuse. We have to improve and we all understand that. But I do think we will reach a point where we will find an identity. … It’s unfortunate that it took a while.
“Time is not on our side. But, at the same time, I don’t think it’s panic mode for us yet. We just have to keep working. It won’t be easy but with this group, I think once we find a flow and a rhythm it will be great for us in the long run.”
Embiid, for all his near-automatic dominance when available over the years, has never exuded steady, reliable leadership. Maxey reportedly called out Embiid’s habits and tardiness at a team meeting Monday evening.
What good habits are the Sixers building? The team ranks second in defensive turnover percentagebut that was the only consistent positive for an average defense. The Sixers have the The NBA’s worst offensive ratingthey’re not good on both the defensive and offensive glass, and it’s not far from hyperbolic to say that rookie Jared McCain has been their most reliable player the past two weeks. He has hit the 20-point mark in each of his last six games and has shown extraordinary poise, shooting ability and adaptability.
Outside of Guerschon Yabusele, who is playing NBA basketball for the first time since 2019, every Sixers veteran has performed below expectations. That includes head coach Nick Nurse, who generally did not choose effective Plans B, C and D or fix in-game problems. The Sixers have minus-17.8 net rating in second quarters and a minus 17.7 net rating in third quarters.
The Sixers entered the season with the league’s oldest average age, according to NBA.com. None of president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s ultra-savvy offseason pickups thrived.
The 34-year-old George shot poorly (38.3 percent from the field. 27.8 percent from three-point range) and exceeded 20 points once. After re-signing with the Sixers, Kyle Lowry again played more minutes than Nurse initially anticipated and, at age 38, missed 21 of his last 23 three-point attempts. He is out with a right hip strain. Eric Gordon, 35, has a 49.3 true shooting percentage that would be the lowest in his career. Reggie Jackson, 34, has largely been out of the Sixers’ rotation.
Maybe the Sixers will seize firm control of everything they can — crisper, cleaner offense, smart defensive schemes, hustle plays galore. And their luck may very well reverse in the form of continued health and hot outside shooting.
Will everything happen? Currently, the Sixers seem without a stable foundation as they continue to go down and down and down some more.
