Sunday wasn’t technically the season debut for Philadelphia’s new Big Three. The 76ers actually unveiled the Joel Embiid-Paul George-Tyrese Maxey trio on Nov. 20 against the Memphis Grizzlies in what proved to be a false start. Maxey was on a minutes limit after returning from an injury, and then George left with a new injury of his own. The 76ers had every possible combination of their three stars through their first 21 games, but they never had all three of them together from start to finish.
But Sunday finally changed that. In a rare critical November battle, the 76ers arrived in Chicago with Embiid, George and Maxey ready to go. At 6-15 entering the game, Philadelphia can afford no more avoidable losses, especially to lottery teams. Fortunately, Sunday proved encouraging.
Maxey, embracing his new role as lead playmaker of a loaded offense, shattered his career high with 14 assists. Embiid missed his first six shots, but rebounded to score 31 points in 33 minutes. George was the quietest of the group, but that was largely due to an 0-for-5 shooting game beyond the arc. He made six of his eight 2s on the way to 12 points and seven rebounds. It was far from perfect. Rookie of the Year candidate Jared McCain will presumably now have to adjust to a full-time bench role, and the Bulls trimmed a 19-point second-half lead down to five in the final minutes. But in a season that has thus far been a disaster on almost every front, this is perhaps the first true step in the right direction.
Now, the real work can begin, and it very much needs to begin right now. The 76ers have three relatively winnable games in front of them with the Pacers coming to town on Friday and then two tilts against the Hornets afterward, but things start to get pretty tough from there with a six-game road trip followed by a brutal schedule stretch across the final month or so before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Philadelphia is already eight games below .500. The margin for error is more or less gone now. Any more injuries, any more inexplicable losses to underwhelming opponents, any more drama in the locker room and this season could fall off the rails in a heartbeat. Sunday was a dose of normalcy for Philadelphia, a glimpse into what the 76ers expected this season to look like. For their sake, let’s hope it’s sustainable.
