Of course, there was never really a plan for Joel Embiid, the Sixers

Just another normal day for the normal basketball team.

At 2-11, the Sixers appear to be falling apart despite still not playing a game this season at full strength. After an 0-3 start to the Joel Embiid and Paul George partnership, things have already reached a boiling point just 13 games into the season.

After a 106-89 loss to the Miami Heat in which they blew a 19-point lead in the first half, the Sixers reportedly held a team meeting for coaches and players to air their grievances, with Embiid himself being challenged by Tyrese Maxey about how he has carried himself so far this season.

The Sixers being embarrassing and dysfunctional is nothing new. It’s not even surprising that there is instant drama surrounding a team that has 11 new players on the roster, but after “winning” the offseason and boast a plan to navigate the regular seasonthey keep finding new ways to be disappointing.

Monday’s loss and the immediate fallout only proves how much this dysfunction has persisted. It just goes to show if the Sixers ever had a plan, they have yet to follow it at all.

The big reveal from the locker room Monday was Maxey’s challenge to Embiid for his preparation habits this year. IN Shams Charania’s story for ESPNMaxey reportedly called Embiid “late for everything,” citing how that attitude trickles down to the rest of the team.

Charania added on TV today that Embiid, who was listed as questionable for Monday’s game with an illness, wasn’t really seen by teammates or trainers until he showed up for his pregame warmups. Embiid was ruled active less than 30 minutes before the scheduled tip-off.

Anyone who has followed Embiid’s career knows that this is pretty common for him. The guy has passed despite being banned earlier. His teammates hinted earlier this season that they weren’t sure if Embiid would play in the season opener until the day before the game.

That confusion has largely affected itself on the field. Charania reported that players expressed a desire to train harder and coaches want players to “practice with goals and attention to detail.” Embiid himself reportedly said he is confused at times with what the team is trying to do on offense.

The supposed plan going into the season was to manage Embiid’s health in the best way possible. Even though they’ve been blown out in every fourth quarter he’s played in thus far, there have still been some head-scratching moments with his minutes.

He checked back to that heat loss with less than six minutes down 20, indicating the white flag had been waived. But when he checked in, Paul George and Jared McCain opted out of the game. Not only did that diminish the Sixers’ chances of a miracle comeback, but it put Embiid out there without getting reps to build chemistry with two of his most important new teammates. On top of that, they approached a number of Jeff Dowtin, Jr., McCain, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond as the game was slipping away in the third quarter.

The team-only meeting sends a clear message: This is already a disaster, and something drastic is needed to change course. That’s how they, or more specifically Embiid, have always been. Habits are hard to change, especially when you’ve become Tr-oel Embiid again and decide to give a troll answer the first time you’re asked.

There is still plenty of season left, especially for the former MVP, who is a notoriously slow starter to seasons.

But after a summer of losing weight, saying awards and NBA teams don’t matter, lessons learned from winning a gold medal and having a master plan for load management, the Sixers have entered this season extremely unprepared.