In wake of sweep by Knicks, 76ers to re-evaluate everything, including GM Daryl Morey, coach Nick Nurse
There were positives to take away from this season, but New York showed how far away Philadelphia is from contending.
Just eight days earlier, the potential of these Philadelphia 76ers was on full display — they had vanquished their heated rivals from Boston in seven games, sending the Eastern Conference betting favorites home for the summer. The young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe had been fantastic, Paul George was healthy and making big contributions, and a dominant Joel Embiid in the paint made the difference. The vibes could not have been better.
Sunday, the vibes around the 76ers could not have been much worse after they were dominated by the Knicks and swept out of the playoffs. Philadelphia lost the four games in the series by an average of 22. 5 points per game (including an ugly 30-point blowout in Game 4 that felt over after the first quarter).
Joel Embiid missed a game due to injury and could not push around the Knicks frontcourt like he did the Celtics, and when the Maxey/Edgecombe backcourt was off, as it was in Game 4, things fell apart fast. Now everything in Philadelphia is under a microscope — including the jobs of team president Daryl Morey and coach Nick Nurse, something Tony Jones detailed at The Athletic . The jobs of Morey and head coach Nick Nurse are expected to be evaluated entering the offseason, multiple league sources told The Athletic.
As of Sunday's elimination, team sources said ownership has not made final decisions on either and is likely to take a few days to assess before making any major calls... "Internally, the volatility of this year cannot be ignored heading into the offseason. From a tumultuous trade deadline to late-season frustrations between players and coaches that nearly derailed a shootaround, tension simmered throughout the year.