Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain has been diagnosed with a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. the team announced SATURDAY. McCain will undergo surgery in the near future and has been ruled out indefinitely.
It is unclear when the injury occurred. The team said McCain reported soreness in his left knee after the team’s loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday. McCain played 29 minutes in this contest and finished with five points and three assists coming off the bench. The Sixers also lost Joel Embiid in this game to a sinus fracture..
McCain, the No. 16 overall pick, was the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year through the first quarter of the season. NBA season. In 23 games, he averaged 15.3 points, which is best among all rookies, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists, while shooting 38.3% from 3-point range.
With Tyrese Maxey injured earlier in the season, McCain became a starter and had several 30-point games. During one of those performances, a 30-point performance in a win over the Brooklyn Nets, McCain surpassed Allen Iverson for the title. most points ever scored by a Sixers guard in his first 15 games.
It should be noted that Rookie of the Year is not affected by the league’s new 65-game threshold for major awards. Depending on when McCain returns, it’s still possible he could win the honor, especially without another notable candidate. The last Sixers player to win the ROY was Ben Simmons in 2018.
McCain’s torn meniscus is the latest blow for a Sixers team that has dealt with significant injury issues this season. Embiid, Maxey and Paul George all missed significant time and still only played 45 total minutes together.
As a result, the team is stuck in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a 7-16 record. Despite the bad situation in Philadelphia, the Sixers are just two games away from a spot in the Play-In tournament and 5.5 games away from a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot playoffs.
They can still very easily make the playoffs, and maybe even make some noise in the weak East, but only if they can ever get healthy. This “if” gets bigger and bigger every day.
