Full of championship ambition, the 76ers’ slogan for this season was ‘Made for This’.
As the boos filled the arena — the first to be heard when an injury report was reported as long as the end credits of a blockbuster appeared on the big screen — Sixers fans had a more exasperated saying in mind.
“Did we pay for this?”
Joel Embiid, gone again.
Paul George, not tonight.
Tyrese Maxey, sorry, hurt hand.
Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, KJ Martin, Andre Drummond and Jared McCain – all starters or key players this season – did not play for the Sixers in Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City.
The end result was predictable: Thunder 118, 76ers 102.
Sure, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder are 33-6 and would be a tough task on any given night.
The 76ers are in trouble on most game nights these days with their hefty injury reports. The Sixers started 3-14, have lost three in a row, six of eight and are 15-23 closer to a spot in the draft lottery than they were after the season.
Maybe AJ Brown can recommend a good book to pass the time during Sixers games.
The season could get even worse: The Knicks are in town on Wednesday, followed by a three-game road trip with stops in Indiana, Milwaukee and Denver. All of these teams have winning records.
How about a soft landing at home? Ah, try a date on January 24th with Cleveland.
Maxey sprained his left hand in Sunday’s loss in Orlando. George had ankle pain. Embiid, a two-time NBA scoring champion, missed his 25th game of the season. Embiid has played in just 13 games. The Sixers are 7-6 with Embiid and 8-17 without him.
Embiid missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left foot. He has also missed games due to left knee soreness, a sinus fracture and a three-game suspension for an altercation with a reporter in the locker room.
“There are about 44 games left,” coach Nick Nurse said. “That’s a lot. It’s a lot of games. We came out of 3-14 and played really good basketball. I’m just trying to work really hard to keep them together, keep the guys that we know have to improve things improve, giving some guys opportunities that we think can also help us if we ever get back to kind of a very healthy situation and try to be aware of what that could look like.
Embiid is listed as day-to-day. Nurse called the late news that George and Maxey were unavailable a “gut punch” and had no update on the All-Star trio’s playing status against the Knicks.
After the dismal start, the 76ers seemed to get it right, winning 10 of 13 games, including a signature Christmas win in Boston. Embiid injured his foot against the Celtics and played four more games, but none since January 4
The 76ers have been cautious with the 7-footer’s playing time this season as he works his way back from a knee injury. There are no minutes restrictions on Embiid if no minutes are played.
“I was hoping we were on a roll,” Nurse said. “You can’t take into account a foot injury at this point, or whatever other things have happened. I think the plan with the knee is going pretty well.”
Not long after a lineup that featured Ricky Council IV making his first start of the season, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson, the Thunder moved to 16½-point favorites, according to BETMGM Sportsbook.
As soon as Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3 that gave OKC a 32-11 lead in the first quarter, the 76ers were booed off the court heading into a timeout.
The B-team Sixers – with Justin Edwards and Jeff Dowtin Jr. as top scorers – the fans scrapped and turned back on their side as they pulled to 91-87.
The Thunder shut down the 76ers with ease in the waning moments of the fourth.
The Sixers can now only hope that Nurse was right and that the season can somehow be saved.
