More misery for the Sixers! What was expected to be a historic season for the franchise is slowly turning into a disaster. Their new Big Three have faced constant injury concerns and have hardly suited up together. And adding to the ongoing problems, they have now suffered another massive setback in the form of their star rookie, Jared McCain.

Yes, the frontrunner for the Rookie of The Year trophy has been ruled out! The reason?

A lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, as reported by Keith Pompey. Well, Jared McCain reported left knee soreness following Friday’s blowout loss against the Pacers. An MRI revealed the severity of the injury that will require surgery and force the rookie to miss significant time, “indefinitely” being the keyword, unfortunately.

Obviously, this is devastating news for the 76ers because McCain has been their only silver lining amid an abysmal season. Taking charge in the absence of the team’s superstars, he is leading all rookies in scoring, averaging 15.3 points.

He is also shooting at an efficiency of 38.3% from deep range. McCain’s confidence had been sky-high, as he even claimed, “I’m Rookie of The Year!” during one of his breakout performances a few weeks ago. But this meniscus tear could halt his momentum and take the ROTY trophy away from his grasp…

Sure enough, the fans are left devastated by the news, fearing that McCain will be “robbed” of the ROTY trophy despite being the best rookie so far, “Sixers fan we can never fully enjoy anything… ever… now he’s gonna be robbed of rookie of the year cause he won’t play enough games. I am tired and we have even made it All-Star break yet,” a heartbroken netizen wrote.

More importantly, Jared McCain’s injury only adds to the Sixers’ list of problems. Just last night, Joel Embiid also suffered a sinus fracture after taking an accidental blow to the face from Bennedict Mathurin. And he could also miss some time, depending on the upcoming evaluation this weekend. The former MVP had just returned last weekend from a seven-game hiatus because of knee issues. Sure enough, Philly fans are beginning to lose hope and have started making new demands from their franchise.

NBA World urges the Sixers to “JUST TANK” after Jared McCain setback

Well, the Sixers are nowhere close to making the playoffs, let alone contend for the title. With these constant injuries, it does not look like the situation is going to change anytime soon. Therefore, Philly fans are urging their franchise to shut their season down completely, as comments like “JUST TANK!!!! Not going anywhere anyway” and “I suppose their focus has be finishing with a bottom 5 record now. Could say bottom 6, but risk getting passed by someone in the lottery and dropping to 7” began flooding in.

Yes, now that a title seems far-fetched, it might not be a bad idea to tank, in hopes of getting a lottery pick in next year’s draft. One netizen even pointed out their target, “Capture The Flagg” referring to Duke star Cooper Flagg who is projected to be the first pick next year.

With a 7-16 record, the Sixers are already among the bottom four teams in the East. If they continue this trend, they might intentionally or unintentionally increase their chances of bagging a lottery pick. Although many fans are leaning toward tanking, that might not be the best way forward. Firstly, there is no guarantee that the Sixers will be able to land Flagg. Moreover, they have an infamous history of promising draft picks not producing results, like Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. If that happens once again, it will only increase frustration among fans because they have been Trusting The Process for several years. So, the best thing might be to ensure that the star players return to complete health and make a run for the championship right away. Do you agree?