Sixers insist they are not in panic mode, but must ‘dig in’ after dreadful 2-10 start

ORLANDO, Fla. — Joel Embiid tapped his chest as he spoke inside Kia Arena’s visitors’ locker room late Friday, indicating his lungs felt pretty good after logging 33 minutes in his second game of the 2024-25 season.

His legs? Not so much, Embiid said, causing shot after shot to seemingly fall short.

The 76ers’ superstar added it typically takes between two and four games for him to return to form after an extended injury absence. That is part of the reason he and teammates insist they have not mentally descended into panic mode following their 98-86 loss to the Magic to drop to a stunningly dreadful 2-10 in the early season. Yet there also is a rapidly shrinking margin for error, both within each game and, now, for this entire season that the most cynical onlooker would say is already slipping away.

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“It’s obviously frustrating,” Paul George said after shooting 4-of-15 against the Magic. “Like, no one in here is happy or OK with the start of the season. … But the season is long. This is not what we expected when we came together, but hopefully this stretch happens now [rather] than the middle of the season.

“We don’t have anything else [to do] but to work harder and just stay poised. Looking out for everyone in this locker room, we’re all in this together.”

The massive caveat for the regular season’s first 25 days is that the Sixers still have not played one second with All-Stars Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey on the floor together. Nor have they played one second with Embiid and Maxey, which last season morphed into one of the NBA’s most dangerous offensive tandems. They have gotten only two games apiece with Embiid-George and George-Maxey, with unconventional rotations because of minutes restrictions to one or both players.

That the Sixers have struggled under such circumstances is not surprising. Concerning, though, is that they were already planning to navigate a less-extreme version of this, with Embiid set for a season-long management program on his surgically repaired knee and the other 30-somethings on the roster, such as George and point guard Kyle Lowry, expected to be occasionally sidelined.

So far, these Sixers — who also have a slew of complementary newcomers still finding their way — have been incapable of treading water. They have not won a game in regulation. They entered Saturday with the league’s least-efficient offense, scoring 105.7 points per 100 possessions, and ranked 19th in defensive efficiency, at 113.9 points allowed per 100 possessions. Their minus-8.1 net rating was 28th in the league, in front of only the tanking Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz and also-injured New Orleans Pelicans.

Coach Nick Nurse lamented Friday that his team played a “really good 30-plus minutes, and then a really bad 14” against the Magic. Within that poor stretch, Nurse called the offense unorganized and unable to create enough good shots.

“Your not-so-good minutes have got to be closer to average,” Nurse said. “And, tonight, they weren’t.”

Added Embiid: “It’s going to take a while for everybody to be on the same page. Just what we have to do offensively, when I have the ball or when someone has the ball, where we have to cut, where we have to be, just being together.”

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Another perhaps unexpected caveat? Other than the blistering 14-0 Cleveland Cavaliers and defending-champion Boston Celtics, the Eastern Conference has been full of disappointing teams. The Milwaukee Bucks, who also entered this season with contender aspirations, are 4-8 with a much healthier roster than the Sixers. Only three teams in the conference are above .500. One is the Magic, who have already navigated a five-game losing skid before ripping off five victories in a row.

Additionally, a 2-10 record at the start of the season can feel more jarring than a slump during its midseason’s doldrums. But though the players on this veteran-laden team have plenty of experience with rough patches, Lowry acknowledged Friday morning that he has never gone through something like the Sixers’ current slog. Nurse also could not immediately draw on a similar situation when asked earlier this week.

Next, the Sixers have two days to prepare for Monday’s game against the Miami Heat, whose 5-6 record placed them sixth in the East entering Saturday. And though no substitution exists for game reps, veteran wing Kelly Oubre Jr. said obvious steps such as communication, film study, and maintaining a positive mindset will be vital during these “adverse times.” Rookie guard Jared McCain, perhaps the lone consistent bright spot during this dreadful start, noted that Friday’s quiet locker room was because of his team’s collective calm, not dejection.

“Give each other grace that we’re going to have a period like this, but we’re going to get back to it,” he said. “Just learning from them, and knowing that it’s going to be OK.”

So the Sixers have not yet reached panic mode. But with every mounting loss, the sense of urgency naturally heightens.

“We’ve got to dig in and get to work on it,” Nurse said, reiterating his postgame message to his team. “We’ve really got to get serious about the execution side of the offense, right? And we’ve got to figure out when we can do it. …

“It’s not easy with a whole bunch of new guys, and guys coming in and out, obviously. But that’s where we are, so we’ve got to get to work on it, for sure.”