Breaking down Sixers’ final 20 games: Paul George’s (and Jared McCain’s) return, Joel Embiid’s injury and more

Nick Nurse recently described the teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings, including his 76ers, as “tightly squeezed.” And even though veteran guard Cameron Payne vows to go 1-0 every day, rather than looking too far ahead, he acknowledged the Sixers “need to win every game we possibly can.”

“That’s kind of the situation we’re in,” Payne added. “We need wins.”

Such is life with the 34-28 Sixers clinging to the East’s sixth seed — which avoids the play-in tournament — with 20 games remaining, starting with Saturday’s road contest at the Atlanta Hawks. The Sixers enter Friday a half-game ahead of the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic (33-28) and eighth-seeded Miami Heat (34-29), and one game behind the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors (35-27). The Sixers rank 17th in remaining strength of schedule, per Tankathon, though the next week includes challenging road games at the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

» READ MORE: Jabari Walker stepped up for the Sixers, filling in the gaps and securing a win over the Utah Jazz

While attempting to maintain their positioning (or move up) during the stretch run, the Sixers will be tasked with rapidly reacclimating the suspended Paul George with 10 games to go. They will deal with uncertainty regarding Joel Embiid’s availability, who enjoyed a dominant month but is now hobbled again by shin and oblique injuries. And will they ever reach circumstances that allow some rest for All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey, who entered Thursday leading the NBA in minutes played?

Here is a breakdown of Sixers’ final 20 games.

The Cavaliers made arguably the most impactful deadline trade, acquiring former Sixer James Harden to boost the backcourt anchored by All-NBA contender Donovan Mitchell. That automatically adds spice to the final regular-season clash between these two teams. But Harden’s addition has fueled a Cleveland turnaround from a disappointing start to the season. The Cavaliers have ascended to the East’s fourth seed and enter Friday one game back of the third-seeded New York Knicks, making Cleveland a potential first-round matchup for the Sixers.

The Sixers have two games remaining against the East’s bona fide top seed, including a visit to Detroit on March 12. The Sixers must be ready for the Pistons’ rugged playing style, along with MVP contender Cade Cunningham. These matchups also always have Philly ties, with former Sixers Tobias Harris and Paul Reed now in Detroit and Sharon Hill native Jalen Duren becoming a first-time All-Star this season. That April 4 home matchup is the second game of a challenging back-to-back, which also includes an intriguing rematch against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Will we finally get another matchup between Embiid and Nikola Jokic, who previously jostled for MVP awards? Embiid has not played in Denver since 2019, including a 2024 absence when he was an extremely late scratch with a knee issue days before Jonathan Kuminga inadvertently fell on that knee and prompted multiple surgeries. Jokic, meanwhile, is still a basketball wizard but has not quite looked like himself since returning from a knee injury. Still, the Nuggets are viewed as a primary playoff threat to the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder’s lone visit to Philly this season was always going to be a high-profile matchup. But it will also be the return of Jared McCain, whom the Sixers dealt to the Thunder at the deadline in a move that has become wildly unpopular with Philly fans. McCain has thrived with the Thunder so far, averaging 11.9 points and shooting 41.1% on 4.7 three-point attempts in 12 games entering Thursday.

This will be George’s first game back following a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Nurse and teammates have raved about George’s work as an individual and teammate during this time, when he is permitted to be around the Sixers for all practices and shootarounds but must be away from the arena during games. But how quickly he reintegrates on both ends of the floor will be crucial to the Sixers’ postseason outlook.

Remember when the Hornets absolutely obliterated the Sixers in late January? Turns out they were just one victim of the Hornets’ torrid surge into the playoff contention while becoming arguably the NBA’s most entertaining team. Though it would be foolish for the Sixers to overlook this opponent again, if they want to stay out of the play-in tournament, they must win games like this. This game will also pit two of the NBA’s top rookies in VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel, now the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award.

After the Sixers and Heat split their first two meetings earlier this season, this matchup will decide what could be a crucial tiebreaker. A scheduling advantage for the Sixers? The Heat will be on the second night of a back-to-back, and coming off a three-game road trip.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey’s shooting was questioned entering the NBA draft. Now, he holds the Sixers’ three-point record.

After the Spurs embarrassed the Sixers at home earlier this week, they get another crack at the West contender and superstar Victor Wembanyama about a month later. Will Embiid, who missed Tuesday’s matchup, be healthy for this one? One potential silver lining for the Sixers: This could be late enough in the season that, if the Spurs’ seeding is locked up, they could begin resting their top players. Ditto for the Sixers’ visit to the Houston Rockets three days later.

This is the regular-season finale, against a Bucks team that could be desperate to keep its postseason hopes alive. Every NBA team plays on this day, which could cause some last-minute seeding shifts.

Wednesday’s closer-than-expected win over the Utah Jazz underscored how crucial it is for the Sixers to take advantage of all perceived “gimmie” wins.

Those games are:

March 10 vs. Memphis Grizzlies

March 14 vs. Brooklyn Nets

March 19 at Sacramento Kings

March 21 at Utah Jazz

March 25 vs. Chicago Bulls

April 1 at Washington Wizards

April 10 at Indiana Pacers