The Philadelphia 76ers, who have started the season with a 2-10 record, are preparing to face the Miami Heat on Monday night.
The 76ers have made the playoffs seven years in a row, but they haven’t reached the conference finals since 2001. This season was expected to be different, especially after signing nine-time All-Star Paul George in July. With George joining Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the team now has a “Big Three.”
However, Embiid has struggled early in the season due to a left knee issue and a three-game NBA suspension for pushing a reporter in a locker-room incident. On Monday morning, he was listed as doubtful for the game because of an illness.
In the two games he has played, Embiid is averaging just 16.5 points per game, less than half of his average from last season (34.7 points). His rebounds are down from 11.0 last season to 5.5 this year, and his shooting percentage has dropped significantly, from 52.9% to 26.9%.
Maxey has also been out for the last five games due to a right hamstring injury.
George, 34, has played in only six of the 12 games, and his stats have also declined compared to last season, including a drop in scoring (from 22.6 to 16.5 points), shooting percentage (from 47.1% to 39.8%), and three-point shooting (from 41.3% to 31.1%).
With both George and Embiid struggling and Maxey unavailable, the 76ers had trouble scoring in a 98-86 loss to Orlando on Friday. Two former Heat players, Kyle Lowry (four points) and Caleb Martin (three points), started in that game for Philadelphia.
“It’s obviously frustrating,” said George, who missed the start of the season due to a left knee bruise. “Nobody here is happy with the start of our season. But (an NBA) season is long.”
The bright spot for Philadelphia has been rookie guard Jared McCain, who has been averaging 28.3 points over his last four games. McCain, a first-round pick (16th overall) out of Duke, is shooting 40.3% from three-point range, 53.5% on two-pointers, and is a perfect 27-for-27 from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, the Heat have also had their struggles, particularly at home, where they are 1-3 so far this season.
“We need to protect home court,” said Heat guard Tyler Herro. “It’s been something we’ve been struggling with.”
On Sunday, Miami finished a six-game road trip with a 119-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Herro led the team with 28 points, Bam Adebayo added 24, and Duncan Robinson scored 20. However, the Heat were outscored 62-28 in the paint.
“They came out with more urgency than us,” Herro said. “We wanted to protect the paint, and we didn’t do that.”
Miami ended the road trip with a 2-4 record, though the team was without star Jimmy Butler for the last four games due to a sprained right ankle. To make matters worse, Heat reserve Jaime Jaquez Jr. sprained his right ankle on Sunday and may miss some time.
“I’ve had a history of being able to bounce back from these ankle sprains,” Jaquez said. “I’ve had a lot of them.”
Despite Miami’s 5-7 record, Herro remains optimistic, saying, “It’s early in the season, but at some point, we need to turn it on.”
The 76ers share a similar mindset.
