The 76ers’ star trio looked impressive on opening night, with their images displayed on the arena’s large 4K scoreboard. Joel Embiid was shown holding a basketball, Tyrese Maxey looked like he was ready to take off for a dunk, and Paul George appeared intense while gripping a ball with both hands.
However, two weeks into the season, the three have yet to play together in a game, and now Maxey’s injury is the latest issue.
Maxey, 24, has a right hamstring injury and is expected to be out for at least two weeks. The 76ers announced on Thursday that Maxey, who got hurt during a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, will be re-evaluated in a week.
Maxey has been leading the 76ers in scoring with an average of 27.6 points per game and also tops the NBA in minutes played, averaging 39.7 minutes per game. He scored 12 points in 32 minutes against the Clippers but did not play in the fourth quarter.
Coach Nick Nurse expressed his frustration with the team’s bad luck, saying, “We’ve got to hang in there and still find a way to compete and play better.”
The trio of Embiid, Maxey, and George were supposed to be the backbone of a 76ers team that had high hopes for a deep playoff run this season, with all three players holding big contracts reflecting those expectations.
George left the Clippers to sign a four-year, $212 million deal, Maxey earned a five-year, $204 million extension after making his first All-Star appearance last season, and Embiid, the NBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist, agreed to a $193 million extension.
But despite spending so much on these three players, the 76ers are off to a rough start. Heading into their Friday game against the Los Angeles Lakers, they have a 1-6 record, which ties them with Milwaukee and Utah for the worst in the NBA.
With their key players sidelined, the 76ers now face a tough path to the postseason, or they could be heading toward a high draft pick in next year’s lottery.
In NBA history, 20 teams have managed to make the playoffs after starting with a 1-6 or 0-7 record, but it’s been very rare in recent years. In the last 27 years, only three teams – the 2003-04 Miami Heat (0-7), the 2004-05 Chicago Bulls (0-7), and the 2021-22 New Orleans Pelicans (1-6) – have made the playoffs after such a poor start.
Out of those three, only the Heat won a first-round playoff series.
Paul George, who scored 18 points and was booed by Clippers fans in his return to Los Angeles, has only played two games this season due to a bone bruise on his left knee that he suffered in a preseason game.
Meanwhile, the 76ers have been playing all season without Joel Embiid, who is dealing with left knee management issues and also serving a three-game suspension for pushing a media member.
This season, the 76ers have been under more NBA investigations (two) than they have wins (one).
Last month, the NBA fined the 76ers $100,000 for public statements, including those from team president Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse, that didn’t align with Embiid’s health status and violated league rules, such as the player participation policy.
Embiid was also suspended for three games without pay after shouting at and pushing a newspaper columnist on Saturday night.
The 76ers have lost four straight games. After facing the Lakers, they will return home to play Charlotte on Sunday, then host the New York Knicks on Tuesday. Embiid is expected to make his season debut against the Knicks in the first game of the NBA Cup.
“We’ve got to play better,” Nurse said. “We’re taking two steps forward and two steps back. We’ve got to find some consistency and improve our play.”
