Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Ourbe Jr. believe that Joel Embiid is set for a major comeback

PHILADELPHIA - "That's a good question," Eric Gordon said with a nod.

He'd been asked whether he felt the team meeting early in the season - in which, most notably, Tyrese Maxey held Joel Embiid accountable for bad habits - led to lingering issues in the locker room throughout the season.

"But we shouldn't be in that position. I feel like, you know, especially that early in the year, to have a conversation as a team and we shouldn't be in that position. But like I said, we overcame it. We went through a lot of injuries, trying to figure out ways to get chemistry, figuring out what we got to the point where it's like we were trying to figure out ways to win," Gordon said at his end-of-season interview.

"And, like I said, it was tough all year. That was a crucial time in the early year where we just really couldn't overcome it."

Health, first and foremost, was why the Sixers couldn't overcome all the trials and tribulations of this season, of course.

But even when the Sixers got their collection of shiny offseason acquisitions on the court together, it felt off. It felt off from press row. It felt off from the seats in the media room. It felt off from the locker room.

It never felt like the Sixers were getting the most out of themselves, out of each other.

Perhaps Maxey put it the best of all: "We're just names on a paper."

That's what the Sixers were this season. Names on a paper. Never bound by much more than the jerseys they wore on the court.

Paul George isn't surprised that things didn't coalesce into more than that.

"Not necessarily. I thought we won games, we had great moments and we saw what it looked like when it did click and when it did gel. Obviously, it's a different situation for both of us, right? I haven't played with someone as dominating and as good at that position as Joel is on both sides of the floor," George told reporters at his end-of-season interview on Sunday.

"That was an adjustment for me. So with that, you kind of have to see it for what it is. I pride myself on being able to play in any situation, in every situation. Whether it's on the ball, whether it's off the ball. So it was a learning curve for me to kind of adjust, playing that style. So I'm not surprised of the moments that it didn't look well. Obviously we have to continue to work this thing out. But, you know me, I'll always stay optimistic. And again, I think I can play in any situation. So it's just getting better from this point."

An optimist would look at the fact that Embiid, Maxey and George only played 15 games together this season and say that they simply didn't have enough time together. Embiid and George shared the floor for just 18 games.

Maybe they just need more time - and better health luck.

A pessimist would point to the fact that they'd have to place blind faith into the future respective healths of Embiid and George. They might also recall the eye test of this season. Even when Embiid and George were on the floor together, you hardly ever felt that the team carried itself with a sense of urgency.

The stars have to set the tone there. For Embiid and George - who are in their early and mid 30s, respectively - if not now, then when?

Of the players who spoke before Sunday's season finale, the common theme was frustration. Frustration about health. Frustration about falling so woefully short of expectations.

But unlike in that meeting early in the season, not frustration about the things that were in Embiid's control.

In fact, those who spoke before the game practically agonized for their ailing teammate.

"It sucked. It really did suck, man. Because at the end of the day, Joel is somebody who really wants to be out there. So it's like, to see him suffer, to see him go out there and actually try and just couldn't be himself," Maxey said at his end-of-season interview.

"You could tell. You give him the ball sometimes, and I've seen him do so many spectacular things. I gave him the ball a couple times in moments where I think that he'll do something and I guess he just couldn't. It was limited."

Maxey's focus was not on how Embiid's knee affects the team. Rather, it was on how the ailing knee eats at a close friend.

"So hopefully that surgery went well and all that and he gets back to Joel Embiid that we know and love. Honestly, I hope it for him, because it'll make him feel a lot better," he said.

"All in all, he's been great this year. As far as being a teammate, being somebody who comes and just supports us. And I talk to him all the time, of course, and he really supported the team and he tried his best to try to help in any type of way that he could."

Maxey seemed to believe - or hope like hell, at the very least - that this was just a blip on the radar. A minor setback for a major comeback. He placed that optimism in Embiid's work ethic.

"I don't have any uncertainty. My thing with Joel is he's going to work extremely hard to get back. He's going to put the work in. So whatever the case may be, how ever his knee reacts, that's up to God," Maxey said.

"But I have the ultimate faith in Joel and working extremely hard to get back to who he was."

Kelly Oubre Jr. echoed a similar sentiment. When he looks at Embiid, he sees someone whose career has been defined by overcoming adversity.

"He's a soldier, man. He's been battling stuff his whole career, even at Kansas, right? So just to see him kind of try to tough it out, fight through things, I think that goes to his character and who he is as a person," Oubre said at his end-of-season interview. 

"So I'm just praying for him. I'm here for him throughout his recovery. I know I'll see him in the summer and then I know that he's doing everything that he possibly can to get back to where he was because he's a competitor. He wants to be the best, as we all want him to be the best version of himself that he can be. So yeah, man. God speed to his recovery and I pray that he takes the proper steps to get back to being himself. He fights lions and tigers and bears and he can conquer whatever he's going through right now."

While Maxey heads into the summer with a finger on the mend, he remains optimistic about the future - not because he has ironclad reasons to be, but because the season left him feeling like this is the worst things could be. 

"This is going to sound bad, but the one positive that I do take away is the only way we can go from here is up," the star guard said.