The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a horrible start to the 2024-25 NBA season, currently sitting at 3-13 heading into Wednesday evening’s tilt with the Houston Rockets. The 76ers have already dealt with major injuries to Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, and outside of a breakout start to Jared McCain’s rookie season, the rest of Philadelphia’s supporting cast has been unable to hold down the fort.
Considering just how brutal of a star the team has gotten off to, some have wondered aloud whether or not it may be in the 76ers’ best interests to tank the rest of their season and try again next year. Recently, ESPN NBA insider Bobby Marks weighed in on the issue, via the Hoop Collective Podcast.
“Probably, Christmas, right around Christmas, so that’s a month from here,” said Marks when speaking about a timeline for when Philadelphia will commit to a direction. “I think the Embiid situation is going to linger all year, he’s going to be on the injury report for probably the rest of his career.”
Marks also spoke on 76ers general manager Daryl Morey and his track record of pushing his chips to the center of the table.
“I just think you’re going to get to a point, and I know as competitive Daryl is, listen, he’s probably the only GM that was willing to go swing with Golden State back in the day, putting those Houston teams together,” said Marks. “But at the end of the day, you’re going to look up at those standings and the best case scenario might be you’re getting Boston, and that’s not the best case scenario. You’ve got to get through the 9 / 10. So you swallow your medicine right now and you basically shut them down, you basically try for that draft pick.”
Are the 76ers cooked?
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Injuries were always going to be a concern with a team headlined by Joel Embiid and Paul George, but even the most cynical 76ers fans likely couldn’t have seen the team being ten games under the .500 mark before calendar even flips to December.
The 76ers free agent signings of Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, and Eric Gordon haven’t been able to pick up the slack, and at the current juncture, Jared McCain is just about the only reason for Philadelphia fans to turn on their TV’s every night.
In any case, the 76ers are next slated to take the floor on Wednesday evening at home vs the Houston Rockets.
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