Sunday night was a special occasion for Patrick Beverley. For the first time since his February trade, he faced his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks. With superstar Joel Embiid sidelined, the Bucks dominated the 76ers, winning 119-98. But the story doesn’t end there.

Beverley offered insight into the 76ers’ plans, suggesting that all hope might be lost for them, at least this season. When asked about Philly’s championship aspirations, he said, “After Joel went down, that kinda changed the look and makeup of the team not knowing if he’s coming back all.”

Further, he was asked if management wanted to win the ring, to which Pat replied, “For sure. Obviously. But I think they’re looking to the future and not now, especially with the team makeup… bunch of free agents coming up.”

Embiid’s absence highlights the new 65-game minimum requirement for the MVP race. He’s out of the running for this season’s MVP title despite his impressive pre-injury scoring average of 35.3 points per game as he played only 34 games this season. The Bucks game was the 11th straight game that Joel Embiid sat out. Embiid’s presence is crucial to Philadelphia’s success, as their record has fallen to 7-16 without him.

Philly In Limbo

According to ESPN Senior NBA Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, Embiid underwent left meniscus surgery and and is due for re-evaluation around March 5th. If it all goes well, a 4-to-6-week recovery timeline could see him return by March 19th, giving a sigh of relief to Coach Nurse.

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When asked if he was any more optimistic that Embiid would be back this season, Coach Nurse replied, “Let’s see…I was always really hopeful. I think I’m still at that point.”

While Embiid’s return remains uncertain, Tyrese Maxey has stepped up alongside Paul Reed and Buddy Hield to carry the team forward. Maxey led the way against the Bucks with 24 points with 3 rebounds and 7 assists, while Reed and Hield contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.

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In the post-game interview, Pat Bev was also asked how it felt to guard Tyrese Maxey and Pat happily replied, “Oh that was fun. So much fun. It was just everybody though. It was funny because you know every play they ran, I kinda knew exactly what it was you know so. But nah, it was good, good to see them, good to see Nurse, good to see the coaching staff. Happy being in front of the fans, it was great tonight.“

With the play-in tournament approaching, the Philadelphia 76ers currently sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, holding a slim 1.5-game advantage over the 7th-place Orlando Magic. Considering their recent form (3-5 in February and another loss post-All-Star break), the remainder of their season remains uncertain for Philly. Will Embiid soon make his return and fuel his team into the playoffs? Stay tuned to find out!