Sixers ‘in survival mode’ as they near the midway point of a disastrous, injury-riddled season

“We just don’t ever seem to get to a point when we’re adding,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We seem like we’re ‘minus-ing’ almost all the time.”

Sixers coach Nick Nurse: “It’s almost like we’ve been in survival mode, doing the best we can with who’s available as we go."Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Gina Mizell

Published Jan. 19, 2025, 10:12 a.m. ET

INDIANAPOLIS — When asked how he would describe the first half of the 76ers’ regular season, Andre Drummond compared it to “a never-ending roller coaster.”

“It’s been up and down, and twists and turns,” Drummond said before shootaround at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Saturday morning. “It’s been very … interesting, so to speak.”

No matter the analogy applied, this has been the complete opposite of what the Sixers envisioned when they entered the 2024-25 season with championship aspirations, after signing perennial All-Star Paul George to team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The track has oftentimes been hellish, and double-take-inducing, and deflating. It has occasionally been plucky and surprising, though rarely good enough. The ugly results as the Sixers officially hit the midway point of the regular season with Sunday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks: a 15-25 record, with a former MVP who has only played in 13 games and just suffered another injury setback, and a total absence of cohesion and continuity.

“We just don’t ever seem to get to a point when we’re adding,” coach Nick Nurse said Saturday before a 115-102 loss to the Pacers. “We seem like we’re ‘minus-ing’ almost all the time. … It’s kind of difficult to say, ‘Who are we? What are we doing?’

“It’s almost like we’ve been in survival mode, doing the best we can with who’s available as we go. That’s been almost the story for the entire first half of the season.”

There has been a lengthy list of issues, sometimes in a Whac-a-Mole style where one replaces another. Shout-out to journalist Matt Carey, who perhaps best captured that sentiment with this Dec. 14 Bluesky comment following the out-of-the-blue news release that standout rookie Jared McCain had cleared concussion protocol following a game the previous night … but would instead need season-ending knee surgery.

“Only a true Sixer could hit his head and come away with a torn meniscus,” he wrote.

Embiid’s numerous health issues, however, remain the most short- and long-term concerning. The latest: a healed sprained foot becoming a (re)swelled knee following a workout earlier this week. It’s fair to wonder when — or if — he will ever return to his fully dominant form that made him the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time scoring leader, and whether the Sixers can carve out a plan that creates more clarity for everybody on his availability moving forward.

George, meanwhile, has been far from a seamless offensive fit, with dips in his shooting percentages and scoring production while also missing 13 of 40 games with injuries. By Saturday, when Guerschon Yabusele did not play against the Pacers because of his own knee swelling, every Sixer on the roster had been sidelined at least once. And even when those complementary players have been on the floor, they have often been out of position, or logging more minutes than anticipated, or looking less-than-spry, or all of the above.

That has all yielded a clunky offense that entered Sunday ranked 25th in the NBA in efficiency (109.5 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd in field-goal percentage (44.8), including a step back in those areas from All-Star multilevel scorer Maxey. And even though the defense has flashed the perimeter playmaking that Nurse’s aggressive style demands, there have also been too many breakdowns while ranking 20th in the league in efficiency (113.5 points allowed per 100 possessions).

The Sixers have had 25 starting lineups in 40 games, and the star trio of Embiid, Maxey, and George have played together only 10 times.

“It’s hard to build chemistry — and consistent chemistry — when you don’t know who’s going to play on a consistent basis,” said Drummond, who returned from a toe injury on Saturday.

A sliver of optimism: The Sixers’ five consecutive losses have been peppered with multiple admirable efforts this week.

A squad so depleted that home fans booed the lengthy pregame injury report hung around against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have rolled to the top of the Western Conference. The following night, the Sixers took the third-seeded New York Knicks to overtime. The Sixers also closed a double-digit fourth-quarter gap against the Pacers to give themselves a shot to win in the final minutes. And the Sixers remain only two games back of 10th place in the standings entering Sunday, thanks to the Chicago Bulls’ four-game skid and the Miami Heat’s three losses in a row.

Still, this is way too deep in the season for moral victories. Even the pleasant surprises — Yabusele’s career renaissance, McCain’s torrid start before his injury, impressive stretches from rookies Justin Edwards and Adem Bona last week — are difficult to fully appreciate.

Additionally, what should be the potential silver lining if the Sixers miss the playoffs — a high draft pick, à la the Golden State Warriors following Stephen Curry’s season-ending broken hand in 2019-20 — is unlikely to exist. If the lottery places that selection outside the top six, it goes to the Thunder thanks to a years-ago trade. Twenty spins on the popular Tankathon lottery simulator website late Saturday gave the Sixers their pick only three times (though, twice, it landed at No. 1).

The Sixers gained traction during the holidays — not-so-coincidentally, when Embiid played a season-high four consecutive games — but the week of Jan. 6 may be viewed as this season’s breaking point. The Sixers lost at home to the Phoenix Suns, who had just benched star Bradley Beal, and the New Orleans Pelicans, who had just suspended star Zion Williamson … and nearly allowed the last-place Washington Wizards to rally to victory against them.

The schedule does not let up following this weekend’s back-to-back. The Sixers play Tuesday at the Denver Nuggets, which will surely be a charged environment even without Embiid. Then they have a home-road back-to-back against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and Bulls. Home games against Denver, the Boston Celtics, and the Dallas Mavericks — plus a road trip to the upstart Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee — also loom before the mid-February All-Star break.

In the midst of all that is the Feb. 6 trade deadline, which was once viewed as an opportunity to sharpen the roster before a playoff push but now could be used as a way to off-load contracts.

In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s loss, though, Embiid was absent. George was in street clothes, his status for Sunday unclear after sitting out against Indiana with groin tightness. Bona and Ricky Council IV answered questions after becoming surprise contributors. And Maxey, who is shouldering so much as the face and heart and engine of this group, spoke about opportunity for those down-the-bench players, and about clinging to what the Sixers have flashed when healthier, and about the down-the-stretch chances they squandered Saturday.

“It’s difficult, for sure,” Maxey said from his locker. “We haven’t lost like this since I’ve been here. But I think the biggest thing is how I stay positive, man. We’re blessed to be here. A lot of people in this world would want to switch shoes with us.

“So I feel like we have to go out there every single night, and it’s our job. And it’s a fun job. A great job.”

Maxey also referenced the “goldfish mentality” popularized by the television show Ted Lasso, about channeling that animal’s short memory. Council added that his mentality is the more brash, “Shoot, let’s go 41 and 0″ as they cross into the season’s second half. Nurse turned tactical when asked how he has tried to keep players engaged, noting his staff has made the conscious effort to “flip” its typical in-season approach and “spend way more time watching and correcting and fixing and polishing our things that we’re doing, versus getting ready for opponents.”

And Drummond emphasized that he will “stay strapped in” for the rest of the ride.

“Don’t bail out on the roller coaster,” he said, “because it gets better at the end of the tunnel. There’s so much good for this team. There’s so much opportunity. There’s so many chances for us to do something special this season — still — despite the start that we had.

“My hopes are high. I know my teammates also feel the same way. The organization feels the same way, too, or we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing.”