The Sixers are feeling positive after another failed season. Can next time be different?

The 76ers’ future has always been made to sound promising. And even following another failed season, the narrative was no different Thursday night.

Never mind that the Sixers were ousted in the first round by an equally banged-up New York Knicks squad they were favored to beat. The dialogue after the series-ending Game 6 loss centered on how the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and available cap space will make next season different.

After their 2018 second-round exit, the Sixers wanted us to focus on them having two of the NBA’s top stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. After another second-round exit a season later, they told us that the addition of Al Horford would eliminate the backup center problem and improve the team.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey aren’t enough. The Sixers need something even more important.

But in 2020 they were swept in the first round. So we were told the hiring of Doc Rivers as coach and Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations would make things better.

Following another second-round exit in 2021, followed by Simmons’ refusal to play and the trade for James Harden, the Sixers were supposed to get past the second round in 2022. After it didn’t, we were told the acquisition of P.J. Tucker, Danuel House Jr., and Montrezl Harrell would provide the toughness to do so.

The team, however, still suffered a second-round exit last season, leading to Rivers being fired. He was replaced by Nick Nurse, another coach with an NBA championship resumé.

Now, after the franchise took a step backward, we’re told there is optimism because of Maxey’s All-Star season that culminated in him being named the league’s most improved player, combined with the team having close to $65 million available in free agency.

Perhaps.

» READ MORE: Gifted a long list of excuses, Joel Embiid refused to quit against the Knicks. Why? ‘I love to play.’

But as you see, the future is always spun to be bright in Sixersland.

Maybe that’s a way to maintain hope and interest in a franchise where the reality has remained the same: Philly isn’t good enough.

The Sixers are what their postseason finishes say they are: A team with a second-round ceiling — and it didn’t even reach that this season.

Yet, we’re constantly being led to believe things are going to be different.

The Sixers did have some injuries this season. Embiid was slowed by tweaking his left knee twice after returning from a torn meniscus. He was also hampered by Bell’s palsy. De’Anthony Melton had been dealing with a back issue for most of the season. And Robert Covington had been sidelined since Dec. 30 with a bone bruise in his left knee.

But the Knicks also were banged up.

All-Star power forward Julius Randle underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder last month and hasn’t played since January. Reserve center Mitchell Robinson played on a bad ankle that caused him to miss the second half of Game 3 and all of Game 4. And sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanović, the Knicks’ top trade deadline acquisition, underwent season-ending surgeries on his left foot and left wrist on Tuesday after suffering a foot injury in Game 4.

So it’s hard to use Embiid’s injuries as an excuse, when he averaged 33.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks.

The Sixers lost because they lacked toughness and were outhustled. Maybe they’ll regain that toughness next season. But we thought the same after they were ousted in the second round by the Miami Heat in 2022. The Sixers did get tougher the following season. They just didn’t get better when it mattered the most.

» READ MORE: The Process keeps progressing with Joel Embiid after Tobias Harris exits for the Sixers

That’s why Nurse is here. Under him, Maxey averaged career highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7), and assists (6.2) this season.

He scored a career-high 52 points in a double-overtime road victory over the San Antonio Spurs on April 7. Maxey had two other 50-point outings: He scored 51 points in a road victory over the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1 and had 50 points in a home win over the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 12.

And Maxey willed the Sixers to a Game 5 overtime win, scoring a playoff career-high 46 points. His signature moment came when he brought the Sixers back from six points down with 28.4 seconds left in the game. He scored Philly’s final seven points to force overtime in the 112-106 victory.

For the series, Maxey averaged 29.8 points and 6.8 assists while shooting 40.0% on three-pointers.

“I think the lesson, just in general, is he’s got to continue to understand that he’s not anywhere near where he can be,” Nurse said. “I keep saying he is an ‘A‘ player, right? He is an ‘A’ player in this league. And he still has a lot of experience, minutes, and opportunities. All that kind of stuff to get better. I think he certainly had a hell of a series.”

With a Maxey and Embiid tandem moving forward, Nurse feels the Sixers have a good sense of what must be done to turn the franchise around. And he also believes “Joel and Tyrese is a helluva combo to start with.”

We’ll see.

We’ve heard all this before. No offense to Nurse, who led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and was named NBA Coach of the Year a season later. The 56-year-old brings a different approach. And Maxey did blossom into a star.

Time will tell what the Sixers will do with their available cap and if players can remain healthy when it matters the most.

It’s just that the optimism and perceived upgrades following continued failed postseasons, to this point, haven’t led to better finishes.

So we’ll see.