Frustrating Sixers season hits new low as bright spot is ruled out for rest of year

When the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George, they envisioned rostering a team that could conceivably compete for an NBA Championship. George joined Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, joining one of the most potent big threes in the league. Unfortunately, things haven't gone to plan whatsoever.

Maxey missed six games due to injury earlier this season. Embiid had been limited to just 13 games as he's dealt with a bevy of injuries and is having arguably the most inefficient season of his career. George has been limited to only 24 games and is having what could be the worst season of his career as well.

With all of that in mind, the Sixers sit at 15-20 35 games into their season. They are currently 1.0 game back of the Chicago Bulls for the last spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament. That's right — if the regular season ended today, the 76ers would not even have an opportunity to play their way into the playoffs. The only thing saving them right now is an underwhelming Eastern Conference keeping them in the playoff hunt.

One of Philadelphia's very few bright spots had been the play of Jared McCain, a rookie who wasn't even in their rotation at the beginning of the season. McCain played his way into the team's starting lineup and looked like the clear runaway winner for Rookie of the Year before suffering a lateral meniscus tear. He had to undergo surgery and was ruled out indefinitely, but not for the remainder of the season.

Unfortunately, whatever optimism Sixers fans had that they'd get the 20-year-old back sometime this season has officially evaporated thanks to the team ruling him out for the remainder of the year.

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Sixers latest gut punch sees Jared McCain get ruled out for remainder of season

It was probably wishful thinking to expect McCain to come back this season after suffering such a serious injury, but since the team hadn't initially ruled him out for the entirety of the campaign, there was a glimmer of hope that he'd make a return at some point. The news that he won't is crushing.

McCain was the one player on this team exceeding expectations prior to his injury. In the 23 games he appeared in, he averaged 15.3 points on 46.0/38.3/87.5 splits to go along with 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. In the eight games he started, he averaged 23.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. He wasn't only exceeding expectations as a rookie, but he played like an All-Star when given extended minutes.

The Sixers have a ton of talent even without McCain to be a threat in the Eastern Conference with Embiid, Maxey, and George in the mix, but this team being legitimate threats would require all three of them to be on the court and playing to their abilities. So far this season, that has not happened.

Sixers fans would've been able to somewhat deal with the pain of yet another disappointing season had McCain finished out the year and looked like a future star. The fact that the team is still on the outside looking in when looking at the Play-In picture and now is without their young rookie just adds to the frustration this season has been.