The first questions posed during Nick Nurse’s pregame news conference were about a player who never stepped on the court Friday. Yet the trickle-down effects of rookie standout Jared McCain’s meniscus surgery — which the 76ers announced on Thursday night would officially end his 2024-25 season — were apparent during a brutal 123-115 loss to the shorthanded,

The Sixers were short-handed against the Wizards with Joel Embiid, Paul George, Andre Drummond, Kyle Lowry, and KJ Martin all sidelined. As Philadelphia got back to work on Thursday, coach Nick Nurse gave a practice update on the injured members of his team.

Nick Nurse spoke to reporters postgame about his team's loss on Friday. "We struggled in the mid pick and roll defense... It's a five-man job to guard the screen and roll, but a lot of it at the point of attack wasn't good either.