As if this season could not get any uglier for the Philadelphia 76ers, the injury bug decided to play another tomfoolery, albeit against the same, old victim — the team I just mentioned. Shortly after Joel Embiid went down with a facial injury, Jared McCain, the league’s top rookie in the early going is now sidelined indefinitely after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus.
McCain’s injury leaves the 76ers with a gaping hole in the backcourt. Outside of Tyrese Maxey, he’s been their lone solid contributor at the guard position, and now, the coaching staff will have no choice but to take on some calculated risks to fill his void for the meantime.
Unfortunately for the team, given their lack of external moves as of the moment, they are stuck with not-so-flattering options to try and man up in the absence of their newest breakout star. One option in particular plays conversely to what every fan wants to happen, especially given what has been showcased thus far,
Jared McCain’s injury forces the 76ers to play an unplayable cog
With a lot of minutes now freed up due to McCain being sidelined, Nick Nurse has resorted to welcoming back a player he had already slowly phased out of the rotation — Eric Gordon. The seasoned head coach certainly seemed like he’s going to give the veteran another run and a chance to rejoin the rotation.
“Eric has come in here and had a great workout. He’s trying to get himself back in there. He’s trying to stay ready and be ready to go.”
Gordon, whom the 76ers inked to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal last summer, has been absolutely atrocious to begin the season. He kicked the season off as a complementary starter, only to see his role wane due to his sheer ineffectiveness on both ends. His shooting has been sporadic at best and his defense has been non-existent. His age has completely showed itself this season.
To be fair, it’s not like the 76ers have an abundance of in-house options to inherit McCain’s minutes, but given Nurse’s proclivity for veterans, fans hoping to see more minutes from younger commodities such as Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin could be in for a huge disappointment — it’s just not happening.
Unfortunately, with the Philadelphia 76ers failing to extract consistent showings from players they initially thought would be great depth pieces, the coaching staff will have to make do with whatever is readily available to them. Such has been reflective of the story of the season so far for the ambitious franchise.