Jared McCain Waiting in Wings for Skidding 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers have fallen victim to a time-honored NBA tradition this season, falling from contender status to a team fighting just to make the postseason in general.

Despite the adding of nine-time All-Star Paul George to an already good core of former MVP Joel Embiid and star guard Tyrese Maxey, the team hasn’t played as expected.

On the season, the 76ers have likely underachieved relative to pre-season expectations more than any others, owning just 20 wins to 35 losses. Plenty of that can be attributed to injuries, which have hurt its big three and others all season long, but there’s been little excuse in its recent stretch.

With Embiid in and out of the lineup, the Sixers have now lost six-straight games, most recently suffering a 20-point loss to Boston on Thursday night. The team was relatively healthy, but wasn’t able to put a dent in the reigning champion’s armor.

Still, there’s some hope for the 76ers moving forward, primarily in the fact it seems they drafted one of the best players in the 2024 NBA Draft in guard Jared McCain.

Through 23 games prior to injury, McCain was able to score 15.3 points, dish 2.6 assists and nab 2.4 rebounds, hitting on 46% of his shots overall and 38% of his threes.

Unfortunately, McCain suffered a torn meniscus after his white-hot start to the year, but at least offers the team hope for the future in the form of a highly-talented prospect.

For now, the Sixers will need to figure things out on their own, with Embiid leading the charge in returning to his impactful form, and George re-finding his rhythm, too. But McCain should help ease at least some of the results from this season.

Philadelphia next takes on the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Feb. 22.