The Philadelphia 76ers went chips in… but a ‘dark cloud’ and $193m Embiid problem is staring them in the face
It’s been some sort of nightmare start to the season for the 3-13 Sixers, fast falling behind the eight ball despite going into the season with big expectations.
Even for the ultimate optimist, they’re in a tight spot — sitting six games behind the East’s fourth seed amid a brutal run of injuries and general bad vibes … even if there’s been one serious shining light among the misery.
They have the fourth-worst net rating of all 30 teams in the NBA, with two of their three wins requiring overtime. Even to be around the play-in would be disappointing, so to have the second-worst record in the league is genuine cause for concern.
Joel Embiid has been at the centre of the mess. Starting the season without both Embiid and superstar recruit Paul George was never ideal – even if a marathon 82-game season.
Not that either player has ever been overly reliable.
And yet the oft-injured Embiid played for Team USA in the Olympics before missing the entire NBA pre-season and the first nine games of the campaign proper, which the Sixers put down to mere injury management.
Embiid, who over the off-season claimed he’d lost “25, 30 pounds,” has played in just four of a possible 16 games and hasn’t looked himself. He’s averaged career lows across the board in points per game (19.8), rebounds (7.5) and blocks (one) while shooting 37.9 per cent from the field.
The 30-year old also received a three-game suspension for being involved in an altercation with a reporter after the columnist had allegedly written an article with references to Embiid’s son as well as his late brother. Hard to be too critical of Embiid for this, as bad as the optics are.
A bigger blight on Embiid was a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania last week stating Tyrese Maxey at a team meeting called out Embiid for repeatedly being late to practices and team events.
Such friction between superstar teammates is never ideal so early in the season, particularly coming from a player like Maxey, who’s so well regarded for his positive attitude, as well as the fact the information leaked at all.
Philadelphia responded by losing to an undermanned Memphis
Philadelphia responded by losing to an undermanned Memphis side, with Embiid’s body language glaring. Afterwards he criticised the person that leaked the team meeting details and hasn’t played since due to ongoing knee management.
It’s also concerning considering Embiid’s significant injury history, so you’d hope he’s more committed to getting his body right and his overall craft than he appears to be on some of those team responsibilities flagged in the report.
But it didn’t exactly paint the picture of a team player completely committed to delivering the Sixers a championship.
It comes after Embiid penned a mammoth three-year, $193 million extension with Philadelphia on the eve of the season, using up an inordinate amount of salary cap for a player with a lot of miles under a big frame that’s undergone multiple surgeries.
We’ve seen injuries deteriorate the careers of other NBA bigs over the years, and you do wonder if all those surgeries are starting to catch up to Embiid.
If that happens, that near $200 million contract would be some sort of disaster.
Whether it was the right move to give him such a pay cheque is a tricky one. We know how utterly dominant Embiid is when he’s up and running as one of the best players in the NBA. That’s never been a question. But unfortunately, Embiid’s apex has only come in stretches amid injury after injury.
“We’ve seen a lot of centres hit this point and it usually doesn’t end well,” NBA analyst Bill Simmons said of Embiid on his podcast.
“As you get older and start carrying more weight and have injury history, we saw it happen with Andrew Bynum. He was an All-Star in 2012 and two years later he’s out of the league.
“You’re taking about these big, 7-foot-2 bodies with extra weight. Some of the guys we’ve watched, it ends fast.”
Then there’s George.
The 34-year old was regarded as the best acquisition of any team in the off-season as the planets aligned for Philadelphia by signing George with craftily designed max contract space you rarely see from a bona fide contender.
It was only possible after Maxey held off penning a contract extension the year prior, effectively giving Philadelphia an extra $22 million to spend it wouldn’t have otherwise had.
But George has only played eight games for the 76ers after hyperextending his knee in the pre-season before reinjuring that same knee last week.
If it were another player, it wouldn’t necessarily be as concerning. But George has suffered a plethora of injuries in recent seasons, which is why you imagine the LA Clippers were prepared to lose him after haggling over a contract extension. And at 34 years of age, he’s in his twilight years despite signing a four-year, $212 million deal with Philadelphia.
