To no one’s surprise, the Philadelphia 76ers delivered another disappointing performance. Just a few days after a players-only meeting looking to turn the tide, the team put together a dull performance against the Grizzlies, handing them their twelfth loss of the season.

For the first time this season, the 76ers were under the banner of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. To make matters even sweeter, they kept breakout rookie Jared McCain in the starting lineup, giving Philly a very formidable opening group that should have no trouble beating a Ja Morant-less Memphis team, right? Wrong.

After the Grizzlies built a double-digit lead in the second quarter, the 76ers were stuck playing catch-up, and their porous perimeter defense did them no favors in any comeback stretch. It doesn’t help that they were once again hit with an ugly reality, which by the way only took 17 minutes to kick in.

Paul George left the match after just 17 minutes as he reinjured his knee, the same knee he strained a month ago, forcing him to miss a handful of games early on. Classic 76ers, huh?

Just when the team finally gets a chance to get the chemistry going between their stars, a big part of the equation breaks down. At this point, this is more than just a coincidence. All the kismet and karmic forces in the world must have worked together to exact unwarranted revenge on this franchise.

Beyond the rush of emotions, this brand new setback only paints a picture of the reality for Philadelphia – as long as they continue to rely on injury-prone stars, it will be a lot harder for them to create some chemistry and consistency than it will be for most teams.

Especially in this situation where the 76ers need to build a winning streak to break even on their win-loss map, stars missing games here and there only benefits their opponents. This team already suffers from a lack of cohesion on the field every night, and injuries will only exacerbate these problems.

Hopefully George will come back in a flash, but at this point it would be wiser for the Philadelphia 76ers not to give in to public pressure and look for a one-time solution rather than rushing things despite the rubble that remains to be cleared tidy. – the story of the season so far before the league’s biggest blunder.