Sixers set to end the most disappointing season in their 76-year existence
Injuries plagued the Sixers’ season as their All-Star trio missed the bulk of it. They enter Sunday’s finale with the league’s fifth-worst record.
The 76ers tried to chase history several months ago when they acquired Paul George and Caleb Martin to pair with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, all in the name of winning their fourth NBA championship and stealing headlines from the hated Boston Celtics.
They made history of a different kind by fielding barely recognizable starting fives as the franchise bottomed out with the most disappointing season in its 76-year existence, starting in 1949-50 when it was the Syracuse Nationals.
The banner headline is a pitiful 24-57 record that clinched the league’s fifth-worst record heading into Sunday’s meaningless season finale against the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center (1 p.m., NBCSP).
So, how will this season be remembered?
“A nightmare,” said coach Nick Nurse.
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The Sixers have lost 30 of their last 35 games, but there were always signs that this season was going to be a lost cause. And the first red flag came at the start of training camp in the Bahamas. That’s when Embiid said he intended to take it easy until he’s ready to play because he was “ramping up” his ailing left knee.
Little did we know that Embiid would miss the entire preseason and first nine games of the regular season because of his knee and a three-game suspension. George also missed most of the preseason and the first five games of the season after hyperextending his left knee and suffering a left knee bone bruise in an Oct. 14 road exhibition game against the Atlanta Hawks.
And the Sixers’ inability to stay healthy and play good basketball got worse by the month.
By Nov. 21, the team with title aspirations was just 2-12, the NBA’s worst record.
Not only were the Sixers 12½ games out of first place, but they also were without George for the second time.
This offseason’s prized free agent acquisition again hyperextended his left knee and suffered a bone bruise on Nov. 20. It was the second time in six weeks.
George only missed the next three games. But the trend that the Sixers could never fully play to their potential because of George and Embiid was established.
It didn’t help matters that Martin also couldn’t remain healthy. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound forward had missed 12 straight games and 17 total before the Sixers traded him to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Quentin Grimes on Feb. 4.
Meanwhile, Embiid and George have been shut down for some time.
Embiid, who played in just 19 games because of an ongoing left knee injury, had arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday. George, who played in 41 games, received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his left knee on March 17.
And the injuries have been contagious.
First-round rookie Jared McCain was the first player shut down for the season on Jan. 9 after having surgery on Dec. 17 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
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Eric Gordon was shut down after undergoing right wrist surgery on Feb. 26. And the Sixers officially shut down Maxey on Wednesday because of a sprained right finger, even though he hasn’t played since March 3. And they’ve been playing without at least eight rotational players since March 14.
The Sixers’ best stretch of the season came when they won 10 of 13 games from Nov. 30 through Dec. 30. Then in late January, they won four straight games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings before suffering heartbreaking losses to the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics.
“Those two stretches were where you thought we’d get it back on track,” Nurse said. “But we just could never get away from the injury thing at all. And then when guys started being out for the season, that kind of stamped it.”
But Nurse is confident that the Sixers can turn things around next season with a healthy Embiid, Maxey, and George.
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“Going back to the initial start, with just Tyrese and Joel, from not this season, but last season,” he said, “there’s a lot of wins there when those two guys are on the floor. We need them on the floor, though.”
Embiid’s availability is the biggest unknown. If he’s unable to play or doesn’t return to his old form, the Sixers could be in store for another nightmare of a season.