The Sixers’ season is already an unsalvageable disaster. It’s time to tank.

Sigh, scream, here we go again. Same old 76ers, same failures, same two tiresome words:

What now?

Signs point, once again, to the Sixers falling short of their bid to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001.

Nothing is official since they’re still technically in the playoff picture. At 22-43, the Sixers are 5 ½ games behind the 10th-place Chicago Bulls for the conference’s final Play-In Tournament spot with 17 regular-season games remaining.

Even if the Sixers make it into the 10th spot, they would need to win two play-in games just to advance to the first round, where the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics would be licking their chops.

And nothing they’ve done recently should give anyone any indication that this team is capable of winning two play-in games.

The banged-up squad suffered a 118-105 loss to the tanking Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. That setback dropped the Sixers into a tie with the Brooklyn Nets for the NBA’s fifth-worst record. It marked their 16th loss in 19 games. But the Nets (22-44) moved into sole possession of the spot after losing to the Bulls (28-38) on Thursday. So the Sixers woke up Friday morning a ½-game back with the sixth-worst record.

And losses are expected to continue to pile up.

Not only is Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) shut down for the season, Tyrese Maxey (back) and Paul George (groin) are both sidelined with injuries. George, who missed the past four games, has consulted with doctors this week about treatment options for his left groin and left knee injuries. A source confirmed a possible procedure is among those options.

And the immediate schedule doesn’t get any easier.

The Sixers entertain the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. The Pacers (36-28) were tied for fourth place in the East heading into Thursday’s games.

They’ll embark on a six-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks (Sunday), Houston Rockets (Monday), Oklahoma City Thunder (Wednesday), San Antonio Spurs (March 21), Atlanta Hawks (March 23), and New Orleans Pelicans (March 24).

What’s next?

What can the Sixers do to change this sorry narrative?

The answer, frustratingly, is the same that was true at the start of The Process for a team now centered around the giant talents — and contracts — of Embiid, George, and Maxey.

The answer is tank.

» READ MORE: The Sixers made offseason money moves that haven’t paid off. Here’s how it might set the team back for years to come

Sixers co-managing partner Josh Harris and the team’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, said last month that when healthy, this team is capable of contending for a championship.

But those beliefs were shared when the Sixers were 20-30 and not far removed from solid victories over the NBA’s first-place Cleveland Cavaliers and the Western Conference’s fourth-place Los Angeles Lakers.

Sure, they could try to get Maxey, George, Kyle Lowry (right hip) and Lonnie Walker IV (concussion) healthy and push for a play-in appearance.

But what would that do?

This season is already an unsalvageable disaster. The Sixers won’t get props for making the Play-In Tournament during what was billed as a conference-championship-or-bust campaign.

And how do you think Sixers fans would react to that?

The fans want them to lose with the hope of keeping their top-six projected pick in June’s NBA draft. That’s why they were rooting for the Raptors on Wednesday night. And why they celebrated after the Sixers’ comeback effort fell short.

The Sixers will owe their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls out of the top six in May’s draft lottery.

But with the sixth-worst worst record, they have a 45.% chance of keeping that picks. Their chance will improve to 63.9% by finishing with the fifth-worst record. To feel really good about keeping their pick, the Sixers would have to finish with the worst mark (100%), second-worst (100%), third-worst (92.9%), or fourth-worst (81%).

The Sixers would benefit from adding a young standout to play alongside Maxey and take some of the load off Embiid and George, who have both had disappointing, injury-plagued seasons.

That said, it will be tough for them to finish with a bottom-four record by season’s end.

The New Orleans Pelicans have the league’s fourth-worst record of 18-49. The Charlotte Hornets are third (16-49), the Utah Jazz are second (15-51), and the Washington Wizards are last (14-51).

Those squads are committed to tanking and the Sixers have the league’s sixth-easiest remaining schedule.

» READ MORE: How will Joel Embiid’s inability to complete an injury-free season affect his NBA legacy?

But at this point of the season, they have no other choice.

Even if Embiid and George are more impactful next season, there’s no available salary-cap space to add impactful players alongside them in free agency. And good luck with finding a team willing to give equal value for Embiid and George in a trade.

The Sixers must tank in order to keep their first-round pick in what is projected to be a great draft.

But what if the Sixers opt to do otherwise?

They would be destined to remain a middling team doing a poor job of representing a once-proud, championship-contending franchise.

Scream. Sigh. Get used to it.