The Philadelphia 76ers certainly have bigger fish to fry to nitpick on one game, but if anything, their latest loss to the severely undermanned Pelicans should count as one of their worst ones this season — a pretty bold statement given the abundance of such disappointments in what has been an underwhelming campaign.
At this point in the season, fans are expecting the 76ers to flash their improved team chemistry. While they are not the healthiest of teams either, they are still touting a pretty talented squad, at least on paper. That should count for something, right? Philly simply doesn’t have the luxury of taking in moral victories or losses given how tight the playoff race has become.
As everyone knows by now, Philly could be forced to clean house, at least on the margins, before the trade deadline. There is way too much mediocrity affecting the team on both ends, limiting their ceiling in the playoffs if they even manage to get there. The 76ers are one of those teams that could also benefit by making an addition through subtraction.
Latest injury could be the final straw for Kyle Lowry and his 76ers stint
One player who has been notably absent for the last three games is veteran guard Kyle Lowry, who is currently dealing with a hip injury. In a recent exchange with 76ers insider Austin Krell, Nick Nurse bared that there is no timetable for Lowry’s return to the court at the moment, effectively sidelining him indefinitely.
Nurse also added that while Lowry has started undergoing a more aggressive treatment plan, the same has not panned out yet.
Lowry is only a couple of months away from celebrating his 39th birthday. And now in his 19th season, his body can’t quite handle those persistent hip injuries, which tend to be nagging. His decline this season also cannot be understated. His shooting has become hit-and-miss, and his esrtwhile peskiness on the defensive end has completely evaporated.
If anything, this could spell the end for his 76ers stint which, after starting off impressively last season when the team acquired him via the buyout market, has grown stale. He has continued to get minutes thanks to Nick Nurse’s familiarity with his game and his continued stability with the ball, but the team needs more than just a passing dummy at this point.
The Philadelphia 76ers would not really get wronged by keeping Kyle Lowry in the loop, but as far as the veteran goes, his time with the franchise could be coming to an end sooner than expected.