If a Sixers tank isn’t here already, it can’t be far off at this rate.
The injuries keep on coming. As do the increasingly understandable calls from fans for the Sixers to tank.
As the Sixers finish this week’s back-to-back on Wednesday night against the 19-34 Nets, Tyrese Maxey has now been downgraded to out with a right knee contusion.
Unsurprisingly, Joel Embiid is also out for left knee injury management.
Maxey did have his worst game of the season against the Raptors on Tuesday. He scored a season-low five points and shot 1-of-9 from the floor, so perhaps the night off to slightly extend his rest over the All-Star break will do him some good. He’s carried a heavy load for the Sixers all season, both in terms of his high minutes (38 per game) and offensive burden as Embiid and Paul George have missed time and/or dealt with various struggles.
There’s clearly no point in pushing Maxey to play. He shouldn’t have been playing at all if he’s been dealing with a knee issue. But it makes what could have been a winnable game look much less likely. With the continued star absences, George struggling since returning from his finger injury, a defense that’s ranked 23rd in February, and a four-game losing streak, there aren’t many bright spots right now. At least new acquisition Quentin Grimes is doing his best to be just that.
As the Sixers sit at 11th in the Eastern Conference, barely ahead of the Nets and Raptors below them, the argument to tank this season is picking up. Even if the Sixers end up doing so accidentally…