The 76ers are cursed, and their season is over

A curse is a fate placed upon someone or something that provides suffering, misfortune, or despair, often beyond their control and understanding. Curses can be portrayed as an invisible chain attached to someone or something, pulling them toward catastrophe no matter how hard they try to escape it. A curse can linger quietly, waiting, letting hope build before tearing it away. It twists ordinary moments into something cruel. A curse is not just bad luck; it is the feeling that something in the world has decided you are not meant to win.

That is what the 76ers the last 25 years, the last time they reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

The news that Tyrese Maxey will miss at least three weeks with a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger only reinforces the dark cloud hovering over the 76ers. Whether it is injuries derailing a season, the fate of an individual, or how a ball bounces off the rim, the same story keeps finding the Sixers.

This season looked promising. Joel Embiid and Paul George were healthy. Maxey was putting up MVP-level numbers. VJ Edgecombe was showing sparks. Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes, Dominick Barlow, and Andre Drummond, among others, showed they could provide value in the rotation. When February came around, Jared McCain had come back to life. And the East, with injuries omnipresent, seemed wide open.

Here we sit in mid-March, over a month removed from the trade deadline and 34 days away from the first Play-In game, and the Sixers’ season is over. They erased a 14-point deficit Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies to get a sizeable 139-129 victory for win No. 35 on the season. Wins are wins, but then again, they trailed by 14 to the Grizzlies, whose injury report was somehow longer than the Sixers’. Without the big guys, this team is nothing.

Now look at what approaches in the remainder of March: Thursday night in Detroit, a west coast trip, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even with some lighter matchups, the Sixers do not stand a chance without Maxey, Embiid, and/or George, who is eligible to return on March 25 in Chicago.

The injuries Embiid and Maxey sustained were such drivel. So… Sixers. So… cursed.

Embiid, after returning from right knee and shin soreness for a big game against the Miami Heat on February 26, took a teammate’s knee to the abdominal area in the third quarter. He left the game, returned for the final moments, iced the game, and has not played since with a strained oblique. The almost 32-year-old was supposed to miss just two games. It has been six.

Embiid, who is averaging 26.6 points per contest in 31.2 minutes a night over 33 games, has only provided positivity while on the court this season. After starting off slowly, he was showing signs of his former self. That was until he aggravated his shin while working on his right knee. Now, we have not seen him since someone else’s knee struck him.

Sworn.

Maxey suffered his injury with 25 seconds remaining of the Sixers’ 125-116 loss in Atlanta Saturday night. He collided with Adem Bona, hit the deck, and was in major pain while grabbing his right hand. He was removed from the game and did not return. The loss dropped the Sixers to the eighth seed in the East, putting them in a Play-In spot.

Two injuries suffered by freak accidents.

Doomed.

Some say everything happens for a reason. It seems as if nothing has gone right for the franchise that founded tanking over a decade ago. It is the same organization that never adds at trade deadlines. Instead, ducking the tax and saving a dollar or two, even when the face of the franchise advises against it.

READ MORE ON THE 76ERS’ TRADE DEADLINE:

76ers Continue Unserious Pursuit Of A Title But Doing Nothing But Ducking The Tax At The Trade Deadline

This season, that cowering included shipping McCain to Oklahoma City. As soon as the sophomore seemed to turn the corner, the Sixers opted to dodge. When injuries strike, roster decisions become magnified.

Imagine if McCain, who is averaging just about 12 points off the bench in 14 games with the Thunder, was still here. Without Maxey for three weeks, McCain would have stepped up on the pedestal and taken over the ball-handling duties. It would have added stability and confidence.

This comes as no disrespect to Cam Payne, who recorded a career-high Tuesday night with 32 points, along with shooting eight-for-eight from beyond the arc. But rather, the Sixers organization preferred to “sell high” on the underperforming McCain. It has come back to haunt them, just as it has so many times. At some point, the misfortune stops looking like a coincidence.

Now the Sixers have 17 games left. They are 35-30, eighth in the East, 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. No Maxey for three weeks, minimum. George is suspended for another 15 games for performance-enhancing drug use, but how much contribution will the 35-year-old really add? Who knows when Embiid will return? With their serendipity, someone else will get hurt.

The season is over. The Sixers thrive off of Maxey. Without him, even with Embiid on the floor, they are nothing. What makes it so much worse is that this was the season to do it. But now, with how the Pistons are rolling, Jayson Tatum‘s historic return from an Achilles tear for Boston, the New York Knicks are fueled by star power, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the East is no longer wide open. It is slammed shut for all other than those four teams.

Who knows what the Sixers will look like in three weeks from now? Who knows what seed they will be in the East come March 31?

We do know one thing. They are cursed.

Maybe some things happen for a reason.

Or maybe the Sixers are exactly what they have been since 1983: a franchise chained to a curse that refuses to unhook.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: