After years of repeated disappointment, there wasn’t a ton of hope for the Philadelphia 76ers to get it done. Joel Embiid and Paul George were perpetual question marks thanks to their injury histories, and it was hard to see Tyrese Maxey carrying them by his lonesome.
Unsurprisingly, that is exactly how the season has played out. Despite Maxey’s terrific season, the team as a whole has largely underdelivered.
Now loitering away in the Play-In, the 76ers’ only hope is to catch lightning in a bottle over the final stretch. That begins with a date against the reigning NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Injury Updates and Game Preview
On paper, the roster for the 76ers should be up there with the best of them. A former MVP in Embiid, a superstar in George, and a budding superstar in Maxey round out a spectacular trio at the top.
But a cast of other valuable pieces like Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., and rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe should have been enough to keep them in the contendership hunt. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to put it all together.
Instead, they are firmly in the Play-In with a 39-32 record. But sitting a half-game behind the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently the sixth seed, they have a pathway to enter the postseason with a week’s worth of rest.
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The Thunder might be the perfect litmus test for them to find out where they stand with less than a month’s worth of action remaining in the regular season. But the injury concerns that have plagued them all season long are going to be a factor for them once again.
Out of their supposed big three, both Embiid and Maxey are out for the game already. Embiid has been dealing with an oblique injury that is going to keep him out of this contest. Maxey, though, is a more serious case.
A tendon injury in his right pinkie finger sidelined him on March 10, and he will be out for at least three weeks. As a result, he will be out for the game as well. The final member, George, is still serving his suspension, but the Thunder game marks the final game of his absence, and he should be back after that.
Unfortunately, that is not where the injury report ends for Philadelphia. Oubre, who’s been one of their most consistent 3-and-D wings on the roster, suffered a left elbow sprain that is going to keep him out for a few more days.
As a result, it will be nearly impossible to take care of an Oklahoma City team that has been just as dominant, if not more so, than it was last year in its championship-winning campaign.
