Wednesday was supposed to represent a fresh start for the Philadelphia 76ers. After starting 2-11 due in large part to various injuries, they would finally have their three superstars on the floor at the same time. Tyrese Maxey returned from a hamstring injury to join Joel Embiid, who played in just four games, and Paul George, who appeared in eight. All three took their place in Philadelphia’s starting lineup for the first time this season against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Instead, the nightmare continued. Early in the second half of a losing effort, George suffered yet another injury that knocked him out for the game. He collided with Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane while fighting for a rebound and immediately came up limping. The 76ers later ruled him out for the game with a hyperextended left knee. Notably, that’s the same knee he hyperextended in the preseason, causing a bone bruise that kept him out of Philadelphia’s first six games.
With 14 games now in the books, Philadelphia has gotten a combined six total minutes with their three best players on the floor. If George needs to miss time with this injury, it could be a lot longer before that number goes up, and it’s not like Maxey or Embiid have reached 100% yet either. Maxey played just 20 minutes in the loss, shooting 3-of-13 from the floor and 0-of-6 from 3-point range. Embiid scored 35 points, by far his highest total of the season, but he also appeared to be in pain late in the fourth quarter when he collided with Jaren Jackson Jr. He finished the game, but was seen limping and holding his knee after the. to play
With Wednesday’s 117-111 loss to Memphis, Philadelphia now fell to 2-12. The 2-11 Washington Wizards had the night off, so Philadelphia now has sole possession of the NBAs worst record. The schedule over the next few weeks is extremely forgiving. Only three of their next nine games are on the road, and only three of their opponents in that span are currently top six seeds in their conference. This includes two games against the Orlando Magic, Paolo Banchero is still missing, while the third is the second night of a back-to-back road trip for the Rockets. On paper, this is the moment they absolutely must start stacking gains.
If George misses time and they can’t do that, their season might be over before Christmas. With every passing loss, the odds are already working against them. Only six teams have ever finished .500 after a 2-10 start. The Pelicans made the 2022 postseason after a 3-16 start, but needed a major in-season trade for CJ McCollum and the Play-In Tournament to get there. The Eastern Conference is forgiving. Last year’s No. 10 seed won just 36 games. But Philadelphia needs to go .500 the rest of the way just to reach that total.
With a mostly healthy George and no more injuries, that makes perfect sense. But Embiid doesn’t exactly have a clean record. George is 34 and has dealt with many other injuries as well. The depth here is limited. That’s the price you pay for accumulating three max-contract superstars in the second apron era. This is DEFCON 1 for the 76ers right now. If they don’t get healthy and start winning games soon, their season will be over before it really begins.
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