As it turns out, having the NBA MVP healthy and available can be the difference between being a championship contender and a bottom-end playoff team. The Philadelphia 76ers are learning that lesson the hard way, as they extended their tough stretch against the New York Knicks in their first game back from the All-Star break on Thursday.

NBA: 76ers Are Now 3-10 In Last 13 Games

Tyrese Maxey in the loss:

35 PTS

6 REB

5 AST

The youngest player in franchise history to average 25+ PPG in a season. https://t.co/OWESIvBonJ

— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 23, 2024

Back on January 25th, Philly was in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, and looking like contenders for the NBA Finals with their 29-13 record and Joel Embiid cruising to another most valuable player award. But the all-too-familiar injury bug caught up with the talented center, and he was ruled out for an extended period after aggravating the ailment when trying to return to play before being full healed.

The effects have been felt. Over their last thirteen games, the 76ers are 3-10. Granted, many of the teams they played against in that span, but the only top-3 team was the Denver Nuggets. During that time, they dropped from 3rd to 5th place in the East, and will finish the night 11.5 games behind the 1st place Celtics.

There was hope that the All-Star break would be a nice way to break the trend and change the team’s fortunes heading into the home stretch, but they didn’t even crack 100 points against the Knicks on Thursday night. Tyrese Maxey scored 35 of his team’s 96 total, while three starters for Philadelphia combined to score just 9.

Philly In Danger Of Dropping Into Play-In Spot

The 76ers are optimistic about Joel Embiid returning at some point during the regular season, per @ramonashelburne. pic.twitter.com/wcNtBovA0I

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 21, 2024

Dropping to the 5th spot has been bad enough, but the team is now in danger of becoming a Play-In team. They will end the night just one game up on the Pacers, who are currently in the 6th and final non-Play In spot, and their next three games will all be against the top 3 teams in the Eastern Conference.

The team that is currently in the 7th spot, the Orlando Magic, are 7-3 in their last 1o games after being victorious over the red-hot Cavaliers on Thursday. They are just 1.5 games behind Philadelphia, and play against some of the worst teams in the NBA over the next couple of weeks, including two against the Pistons and one against each of the Wizards and Hornets.