Sixers' injury troubles seeing them become 'the Clippers East'

When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Paul George at the start of free agency, they did so knowing that his injury history would be a concern. George had struggled for availability throughout his five-year tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Daryl Morey also knew that Joel Embiid's fitness and availability are never predictable. The veteran big man is often sidelined and has consistently had his conditioning questioned by the media. 

Still, the draw of pairing George, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey was too much for Morey to turn down. Yet, to begin the season, the injury issues that some saw as a red flag have already reared their heads. 

Philadelphia has played seven games this season, losing six of them. Embiid is yet to suit up. George has played in the last two contests. Maxey was recently ruled out for multiple weeks with an injury. 

According to a Western Conference executive who spoke with ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Sixers have become the Eastern Conference's version of the Clippers.

"The Sixers got Paul George and have become the Clippers East for now," The executive told Windhorst. "They're going to have to hang on during the regular season and just hope to get into the playoffs with their top two guys healthy and try for lightning in a bottle. It was always like that with PG and Kawhi [Leonard]."

In fairness, the executive is right. Philadelphia is banking on its three stars all being healthy at the same time once the playoffs start. Unfortunately, when looking at Embiid's injury history, the postseason is often when his body starts to break down. It's also a risk to be betting on George being 100% during that run, too.

The playoffs are more physical and competitive, and injury-prone stars don't mesh well with either of those things. Still, the Sixers pushed their chips into the middle with the addition of George. Now, they must find a way to make things work or risk being forced to tear the roster down in a year or two.