Jared McCain diagnosed with left lateral meniscus tear in latest brutal Sixers injury news – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jared McCain’s outstanding rookie season has come to a brutal halt after 23 games.

The Sixers announced Saturday that McCain had an MRI, which revealed a left lateral meniscus tear. He had reported knee soreness after the Sixers’ loss Friday night to the Pacers. According to the team, McCain will need surgery and is out indefinitely.

McCain had an obvious injury scare in the third quarter when he fell hard and his head hit the floor. He was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return to the court.

Obviously, his meniscus tear means he won’t have any further action for a while.

Friday the 13th ended up being a pretty hellish day for the Sixers, who opened the season believing they had the pieces to contend for a championship and currently sit at 7-16. Joel Embiid suffered a sinus fracture during the Indiana game.

After suffering a lung contusion in the preseason, McCain had been a huge bright spot amid all the injuries and losses. Over a seven-game stretch in November, he scored at least 20 points in every outing, averaged 26.1 and shot 45.6 percent from three-point range.

McCain’s total 15.3 points per battle leads all rookies. He won the first Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award of the season and played with tons of joy, confidence and poise for a 20-year-old guard.

“The joy, it’s just me,” McCain told NBC Sports Philadelphia in an interview last month. “I love to smile. I just love to have fun with life. I think if you’re not having fun with life, there’s no reason to do this. If I’m not smiling out there, there’s no reason for me to be out here I think some people take life a little too seriously this is supposed to be the funniest thing ever.

“We only get one shot at it and I just want to have as much fun as I can with it. And having played basketball for so long, I’ve always had fun. I know it’s a serious game. I know we’re trying to win, and I’m going to do everything I can to win. But if I’m not having fun, that’s when I know I have to away from basketball.”

McCain, Guerschon Yabusele and Kelly Oubre Jr. had been the only Sixers to appear in every game this season.

The Sixers’ other guard who played off the bench Friday besides McCain was Reggie Jackson, who logged five minutes. Kyle Lowry was scratched late due to back spasms. Eric Gordon was available but did not play for a fifth straight game. He has had a poor start to the season, shooting just 32.5 percent from the floor and 23.8 percent from three-point range. Two-way contract player Jeff Dowtin Jr. is another guard option in an organization that has seemed particularly snakebitten this year.

There’s no doubt the Sixers have seen sunnier days.