The NBA regular season is nearing its halfway point, with intense competition in both the East and West. In the West, the Thunder are leading the pack, followed closely by the Rockets. The rest of the teams are engaged in a fierce battle, with the Grizzlies and Nuggets vying for third place. Eight teams - the Clippers, Mavericks, Lakers, Timberwolves, Spurs, Kings, Suns, and Warriors - have a maximum win difference of only 2.5 games. Even though the Suns and Warriors have fallen from first place in the West, they still have an advantage due to their early-season performance. However, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that either team will make the playoffs this season. The Warriors' Curry is getting older and lacks support in ball handling, while the Suns rely solely on Durant and Beal for scoring, lacking depth in other areas.
This season's Eastern Conference competition is more intense than in recent years. The Cavaliers are looking down at the competition, while the Celtics, as defending champions, maintain their framework but are overly obsessed with shooting. Holiday is declining, and Porzingis is not integrating well, relying heavily on Tatum's scoring and Horford's system. This season may be their last chance to win the championship. Other teams like the Knicks and Magic are performing steadily, while the Bucks and Heat are catching up. Even the Pistons, who have been tanking for several years, now have a win rate exceeding 50%, providing more excitement. However, there is one team that started the season as a "championship favorite" but is now seriously considering rebuilding after half the season, according to ESPN's columnist: the 76ers.
Let's start with Maxi, the third star. Maxi renewed his contract with the team for 5 years at 204millionduringtheoffseason,earning35.15 million this season. He averages 25.8 points (ninth in the league), 5.8 assists, and 2.1 steals (second in the league) per game, which is quite impressive! However, Maxi has his own difficulties. Since the start of the year, he has played in seven games, with five of them lasting over 39 minutes. In the past week alone, he played against the Suns (44 minutes), Wizards (39 minutes), Pelicans (41 minutes), and Magic (39 minutes). Maxi's average playing time this season is 37.4 minutes, ranking third in the league, just behind the two Knicks players without substitutes: Bridges and Hart!
Finally, he got injured! According to Philadelphia media, Maxi suffered a left hand sprain. This isn't the first time; earlier in the season, Maxi was overused and suffered a right hamstring injury, originally planned to rest for 3-4 weeks, but returned to play after only 2 weeks, with the injury not fully recovered. One word: exhausted! But Maxi has no choice, and neither does 76ers coach Nash, because he can't control the other two big names! Embiid has only played 13 games this season, and his last appearance was a long time ago against the Nets. Just this season, he had knee inflammation, was suspended for shoving a reporter, returned with a sinus fracture, stepped on a staff member during a three-point shooting drill on Christmas Day, and sprained his ankle!
When asked about Embiid, Nash expressed helplessness: "I hope he can play, but no one knows for sure." The team often has to change its lineup and tactics due to the lack of stability. A team reporter revealed that since Embiid has already missed out on various honors this season (not meeting the required number of games), his team hopes he can fully recover before returning to play. What about the team? Not only are many veterans and fans dissatisfied, but Nash and Maxi are also unhappy. Even the team reporter said it's hard to sympathize with Embiid. George is even more interesting; after saying the games against the Thunder and Knicks would be tough, he didn't play against the Thunder.
As George ages, his lateral movement and defensive speed decline. When Nash arranged for him to play the 5 position to participate in defense and rim protection, George was very dissatisfied, stating he prefers chasing core guards. Offensively, he only shoots jump shots and is criticized by American media for not using mismatches to his advantage. George earns 49.21millionthisseason,averaging16.8points,6rebounds,and4.7assistspergame,witheffectivefieldgoalpercentageandtrueshootingpercentagerankingbelow240thintheleague,almostatthebottom!George′sperformanceisnotevenuptoparforaqualifiedblue−collarplayer,letaloneasuperstar!The76ershavetoswallowtheirpridebecausethisisonlythefirstyearofGeorge′sfour−year,212 million supermax contract, and each subsequent year will be tougher.
Including Embiid's 51.42millionsalary,thetotalsalaryofthe76ers′threestarsamountsto136 million! The leader is injured, the second doesn't play, and the third is exhausted. According to salary experts, Maxi is the 76ers' most valuable trade asset. With Embiid's injuries and personality, even if the 76ers want to trade him, few teams would be willing to take him on. George is like a stock marked ST that plummets every day at 9:30 am until it delists. Such a team has no future and no current competitiveness. To put it bluntly and realistically, they should really disband; they're spending money without making any waves.
