This is not the way the Philadelphia 76ers' 2024-25 season was supposed to start.
After an aggressive free agency spending spree in which 76ers team president Daryl Morey was able to bring on basically everybody he wanted, a revamped and ostensibly revitalized Philadelphia squad was expected to return to the Eastern Conference's inner circle of contenders this year. Thus far, they've been among the worst teams in the entire NBA.
In part, injury absences to their three All-Stars can explain some of the club's dismal 2-11 record. All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George both missed Philadelphia's first five games. George has been back for seven of the 76ers' last eight matchups, while the oft-hurt Embiid has weathered first a knee issue and then a suspension already, missing his first nine games of the season.
He has been available for three of the 76ers' last four bouts, all losses, though he hardly looks like himself. Through his first three games this year, the seven-time All-Star and 2023 league MVP is averaging a thoroughly pedestrian 14.7 points on .324/.154/1.000 shooting splits.
All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey, meanwhile, started the year healthy but has been shelved since Nov. 6 with a right hamstring injury. He is expected to miss the next few weeks of action.
Philadelphia has looked positively out-of-sorts, no matter which All-Stars are available. The veteran-laden team has struggled on the fast break and has been an underwhelming threat when it comes to cleaning the glass. Philadelphia is currently the East's last seed, tied by record with the No. 14-seeded Washington Wizards. The 76ers have lost nine of their last 10 bouts.
Things apparently came to a head after the 76ers' latest loss, a 106-89 blowout defeat at the hands of former Philadelphia star swingman Jimmy Butler and the rest of his Miami Heat on Monday.
During a recent appearance on ESPN's "The Pat MacAfee Show," NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that Maxey blasted Embiid during a postgame team meeting.
"Last night they had an hour-and-a-half-long team meeting in that postgame locker room in Miami," Charania said. "I think a lot was said, a lot was accepted, a lot was aired out. Coaches say, 'We need players to practice harder, show more attention to detail.' Players saying, 'We need to be coached harder, we want to be coached harder.'"
The 76ers had a double-digit advantage in the first half against Miami, before coughing it all up and ultimately falling by double figures in the second half.
"But most notable of all that, Pat — I was told Tyrese Maxey, their 24-year-old young star, he challenged Joel Embiid, the face of their franchise... that 'we need you to be on time for team activities,' saying that there was a trickle-down effect. When you are missing, when you are tardy, when you are late for what I was told [was] everything... it has an effect on the rest of the locker room."
Maxey seems to be happily taking the leadership reigns in Philadelphia. When healthy, the 6-foot-2 Kentucky product has been Philadelphia's best player, averaging 27.6 points on .406/.286/.822 shooting splits, 3.9 assists, and 3.0 rebounds a night. Rookie shooting guard Jared McCain has probably been the team's surprise second-best player, however, ahead of George and Embiid.
The No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Duke, McCain has recently leaped into the club's starting five and is currently averaging 15.2 points on .477/.408/1.000 shooting splits, 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 0.5 swipes a night.
"From what I'm told, it was kind of like this: Big Fella [Embiid] is someone that Tyrese Maxey loves. But this was the elephant in the room, and Tyrese Maxey addressed it," Charania said. "They're very close friends, they hold each other accountable."
For one of the league's best players to be called out on basic professionalism is somewhat shocking. Now that this information is public, one wonders how this could affect the team's locker room further.
Read more: Paul George Holds No 'Ill Will' Towards Fans After Treatment in Return to LA
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