Philadelphia is a mess. Where do things stand? Where do 76ers go from here?

[ad_1]

Even the most pessimistic Philadelphia sports fan didn’t predict this for the 76ers before the season. The team has lost nine in a row and 11-of-12, it sits 3.5 games out of even the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, and its former MVP is out with a chronic knee issue that also clouds his and the team’s future.

Where do things stand in Philadelphia, and where are they headed? These are good questions. There are no easy answers, but let’s try to break it all down.

What about this season?

towel.gif

That pretty much sums it up.

Philadelphia sits 12th in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the East. At this point, there is no motivation for them to chase that final play-in spot (which, even if they got it, would mean needing to win two single-elimination play-in games on the road to earn the “reward” of facing a deep and talented Cleveland squad in the first round).

The Sixers owe their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it is top-six protected. As of today, Philly has the sixth-worst record in the NBA — there’s the motivation to throw in the towel. If the NBA Draft Lottery were today, the 76ers would have a 43.4% chance of retaining their pick (which is still a 56.6% they still lose it to OKC). Philadelphia is currently 2.5 games ahead of Toronto in the East standings and the Raptors are starting to play well. If Philly falls behind Toronto (or anyone else who gets hot) and finishes with the fifth-worst record in the league, its odds of holding on to its pick jump to 63.9%.

Joel Embiid’s knee

Everything with the 76ers in the future comes back to getting Joel Embiid’s left knee healthy enough that he can play. Officially, he has had imaging and testing done, and he and the 76ers are set to meet with specialists.

Embiid has been battling swelling and pain in that left knee all season, the same one he had meniscus surgery on just more than a year ago. The core conflict is what comes next, with the 76ers suggesting surgery is unnecessary, but Embiid telling Lisa Saulters of ABC that he thinks he will need another surgery (which surprised the 76ers staff). Jake…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/philadelphia-mess-where-things-stand-193453095.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-27 19:34:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.