Lightning strikes twice as Sixers rookie Jared McCain tore his meniscus in Friday night’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
In the immortal words of the ever-optimistic Slyly from the 1998 feature film ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie:’
“So every step forward
There’s a step in reverse
Things could be better
They could always be worse”
And in fact, they are worse once again for the Philadephia 76ers after this latest injury. After losing Joel Embiid to a sinus fracture, many were worried about McCain due to a hard fall that looked as though it could have caused a concussion. The young guard would pass the necessary concussion protocol and return to the game in the following minute, but there was still some concern.
The last thing on the minds of those worried for McCain was the condition of his knee, as all signs pointed to a head injury. While the news of no concussion or other lasting head injury is a positive, this latest injury adds to the thousand other cuts the Sixers have sustained this season.
First reported by NBA Insider Jake Fischer and later confirmed by the team, McCain reported left knee soreness to the team after Friday’s game. An MRI Saturday revealed that he had suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, which would require surgery and for McCain to miss an indefinite amount of time.
This latest development is a gut punch to the organization. So far this season, Joel Embiid has missed 17 of 23 games, Paul George has missed 10, and Tyrese Maxey has missed six himself. Additionally, Kyle Lowry, Andre Drummond, and Caleb Martin have all missed multiple games due to injury.
McCain was the constant. He has played 23 games, starting in eight of them, and averaged 15.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds while playing 25.7 minutes per game. It’s hard not to feel for McCain, a consistently jovial presence on the team and a tremendously hard worker to boot. He was the leading candidate to become rookie of the year, and now that dream appears all but over. It’s worth noting that there is no minimum game requirement for the Rookie of the Year award; however, as Sixers fans have seen in the past, it still greatly impacts the voters’ decision.
Philadelphia will have to do what they can to survive this latest hardship, but at 7-16 and with no Embiid or McCain for the foreseeable future, it’s difficult to predict where they go from here.
