Wednesday was supposed to represent a new beginning for the Philadelphia 76ers. After starting 2-11 due in large part to a variety of injuries, they would finally have all three of their superstars on the court 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 places 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 another injury that kept him out of the game. He collided with Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane while fighting for a rebound and immediately limped away. The 76ers ultimately ruled him out of the game due to hyperextension of his 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 logged a combined six minutes with its three best players on the court. If George needs to miss time due to this injury, it could be much longer before that number grows, and it’s not like Maxey or Embiid have reached 100% yet. Maxey played just 20 minutes in the loss, shooting 3-for-13 from the floor and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. Embiid scored 35 points, by far his highest total of the season, but 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 play.
With Wednesday’s 117-111 loss to Memphis, Philadelphia has now fallen to 2-12. The Washington Wizards, at 2-11, had the night off, so Philadelphia now has sole possession of the NBA worst record. The schedule for the next few weeks is extremely forgiving. Only three of their next nine games will be on the road, and only three of their opponents in that span are currently among the top six seeds in their conference. That includes two games against the Orlando Magic, still without Paolo Banchero, while the third is the second night of a back-to-back road trip for the Rockets. On paper, this is the time when you absolutely need to start racking up wins.
If George misses time and they can’t make it, their season could be over by Christmas. With each passing defeat, the odds are already working against them. Only six teams have finished .500 after a 2-10 start. The Pelicans made the 2022 postseason after a 3-16 start, but it took 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 get to .500 the rest of the way to reach that total.
With George largely healthy and no further injuries, that’s completely reasonable. But Embiid doesn’t exactly have a clean record. George is 34 years old and has also had to deal with many other injuries. The depth here is limited. That’s the price you pay for accumulating three max-contract superstars in the second-deck era. This is now DEFCON 1 for the 76ers. If they don’t recover and start winning games soon, their season will be over before it really begins.
