Coming off impressive back-to-back wins over the best team in the Eastern Conference and another club ahead of them in the standings, the Philadelphia 76ers desperately hope that this mini jolt eventually turns out to be the game-changer they needed to swing the momentum into their favor for quite some time.
The 76ers most pressingly need a lengthy winning streak to get back on track. A seven-game losing streak to start the calendar year pushed them back to as much as being 12 games below .500, a position they cannot afford to get close to again if they want to make the playoffs and aspire to play spoilers.
Having said that, the team is approaching a glaring danger zone with one of their stars. With the 76ers more desperate than ever before to continuously carve out win, they are resorting to some extreme maneuvers, one that could set them back for years with just one mishap.
The 76ers are slowly making a big mistake that could set them back for years
With Joel Embiid out of the commission yet again, much to the frustration of nearly everyone involved (as well as Paul George playing like an absolute washed-up star for the most part), Nick Nurse and the coaching staff do not really have any choice but to give Tyrese Maxey full control and latitude over the offense.
However, that has been attended with the young star registering more minutes on a nightly basis than ever before. This season, Maxey is averaging a career-high 37.9 minutes per game, tops on the team and second-highest among all players.
Since the calendar flipped to 2025, he has logged 39.3 minutes per outing, an insane amount of minutes for a player who had already missed considerable time this season due to injury.
The 76ers’ desperation is pretty clear with the massive load they are placing on Maxey, but at some point, the front office has to make the necessary moves to incentivize the coaching staff into spreading the wealth a tad more when it comes to allocating minutes.
Philly knows all too well how much detrimental this situation could be, and it would be in their best interest for the long-term to bring in players who can relieve Maxey some of his load in the backcourt.
The Philadelphia 76ers are moving with great desperation with the second half of the season having already begun, but that should also come with a greater sense of responsibility, not only towards the team, but also onto the individual.