Floundering 76ers must start winning — and fast

At 2-12 entering play Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers are one of the worst teams in the NBA and their aspirations of a championship seem to be dissipating by the day. 

The 76ers, of course, aren't out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture with 68 games left in the regular season. The top six finishers in each conference make the playoffs, with the play-in reserved for the seventh through 10th seeds. The Atlanta Hawks currently hold down the sixth spot in the East at 7-9.

Even with a favorable conference set-up, the reality is this season can really get off track if the Sixers aren't careful. Simply put, they must string wins together — and fast. A look at the next couple of weeks shows games one would believe are winnable against the Brooklyn Nets (6-9), Charlotte Hornets (6-9) and Detroit Pistons (7-10). 

But considering the drama off the court with the recent team meeting and the on-court struggles, this team hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt when projecting wins. 

In a perfect world, the team must hope that once healthy, the trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey will elevate Philadelphia among the league's elite. But that vision is blurred at the moment. 

Embiid's left knee still doesn't seem to be right and George will miss at least the next two games after hyperextending his left knee in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. This is the same injury he had in the preseason. 

Oh, and Maxey is just returning from a hamstring injury after missing six games, so he must find his rhythm again. Nobody knows when this Big Three will have a chance to build chemistry. There's also the matter of supporting pieces, or lack thereof. Jared McCain (15.6 PPG) has been a pleasant surprise and is a great building piece for the future, but he's still just a rookie. 

It's also fair to ask if 38-year-old Kyle Lowry and 35-year-old Eric Gordon should be playing legit minutes on a team with championship aspirations in 2024? This roster has proved it's not good enough to survive Embiid not playing in back-to-backs and absences from George and Maxey. 

Yes, the All-Star level talent makes it hard to totally put the Sixers on ice for the season, but sometimes logic is the best guide to projecting future outcomes. 

Logic says they aren't a cohesive unit. Logic says their best player (Embiid) can't be relied on consistently to be healthy. Logic says their big signing (George) is old (34) and can't carry the heavy load when Embiid is out. Logic also says the 76ers can't expect the young backcourt of Maxey and McCain to hold it down when the aforementioned are out. 

Can things get better? Sure, but there's another reality the Sixers have to face: Philadelphia can't afford to take games in November and December for granted. If the team isn't careful, it will go from championship contender to a spot among the league's basement dwellers. 

Through 14 games, they Sixers are much closer to the latter.