As Joel Embiid returns, Sixers look to bridge gap between them and their Northeast rivals: Boston and New York

Nine games late perhaps, but let’s hope that tonight marks the unofficial start of the Sixers’ season.
For a franchise that has consistently hovered around 50 regular-season wins for close to a decade, the first few weeks of the 2024-25 season have been a shock to the system. That starts with the unavailability and ineffectiveness of the team’s three stars. Joel Embiid has yet to play, and only made headlines for misleading injury messaging and shoving Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer in the locker room. You know, the wrong reasons. Paul George missed the first five games, and upon returning has not played well. George actually provides a nice yin-yang contrast with Tyrese Maxey, wh...