Nov 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers Paul George (R) and Joel Embiid (L) look on throughout the first quarter in opposition to the Memphis Grizzlies at Wells Fargo Heart. Obligatory Credit score: Invoice Streicher-Imagn Photographs I noticed this put up making the rounds on the socials the opposite day, and it caught with me: “Presumably the one true pearl of knowledge I’ve heard from 94WIP, ever: The Philadelphia 76ers are a PR agency, not a basketball group.”
With the correct hat tip to that nameless WIP host or caller, I feel the comparability is apt. 4 weeks into the common season, 76ers statements and harm updates outpace wins on the basketball court docket roughly 50 to 2.
It’s all about phrases with this group. What they’re saying, what’s being mentioned about their star participant, and when the subsequent replace on somebody’s availability will probably be.
The most recent assertion from on excessive took the type of a cagey admission from coach Nick Nurse an hour after the 76ers lifelessly gave away a 19-point lead in a 106-89 loss on the Miami Warmth late Monday evening.
“Sorry for the delay. We simply had slightly assembly. … Gained’t get into specifics of that assembly, however completely happy to reply any questions concerning the recreation,” Nurse mentioned.
Joel Embiid saved the small print of the assembly non-public, pretending he didn’t know the 76ers had one, and the web overreacted accordingly.
However I can’t blame basketball followers for not taking Embiid or Nurse or the Sixers significantly. Now 2-11 and taking part in some surprisingly horrendous basketball, it is a group with none apparent options, and the fixed hoopla about who’s taking part in, who’s damage and who’s resting makes them ripe for mockery.
The Philadelphia Inquirer received itself entangled with the Embiid harm saga earlier this month when controversial columnist Marcus Hayes made the poor resolution to attach Embiid’s willingness to indicate as much as work to his son and his late brother. This was adopted by essentially the most bafflingly phrased live-tweeting of a locker room altercation we’ll ever see from beat author Keith Pompey.
However as mad as followers wish to be about Embiid’s ensuing suspension (for shoving, not assaulting, Hayes), the Inquirer didn’t create the 76ers’ terrible begin.
Right here’s which areas of the sport the 76ers are dangerous at: All the pieces.
They rank final within the NBA in scoring (103.3 ppg), assists (21.2 per recreation), and efficient discipline objective share (49.6%). They rank twenty ninth in 3-point capturing (31.6%) and rebounding share (46.5%). They’re twenty eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46), and whereas Philadelphia’s protection charges as middle-of-the-pack, the rim safety is past weak. A group rostering Embiid shouldn’t price twenty ninth in blocks and twenty seventh in factors per shot allowed on the rim.
So let’s discuss Embiid, who after all was listed as uncertain for the Miami recreation with an sickness earlier than he suited as much as play.
Essentially the most optimistic Sixers fan should still argue that the group has not performed a single recreation with their new huge three—Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George—wholesome on the similar time, and issues can flip round once they’re all again. However within the 5 video games Philadelphia has had two of these three collectively, it’s gone 0-5! It doesn’t precisely encourage confidence.
Embiid on Monday had his worst output since late within the 2020-21 season, scoring simply 11 factors in 31 minutes, and he didn’t get to the foul line a single time. Kyle Lowry has began the final six video games with Maxey out and made a grand complete of six discipline objectives in that point.
The silver lining for Sixers followers is Jared McCain, who’s discovering his approach properly in his rookie 12 months. However when your first-round draft choose is main you in factors per possession, it’s virtually like a backhanded praise to the remainder of your roster.
All advised, Monday’s group assembly was a drop within the bucket within the noise surrounding the 76ers. They’ll be on to one thing new tomorrow, or every time we get the subsequent replace on Maxey’s hamstring. However one thing tells me all three stars getting wholesome concurrently isn’t sufficient to resolve the core issues of this franchise.