A Joel Embiid Injury Could Give Spotlight to Ben Simmons
By Josh Wilson
If Joel Embiid‘s injury is serious, it would give Ben Simmons the stage to show what he’s got s an NBA player for the Philadelphia 76ers.
No one wants Philadelphia 76ers rookie center Joel Embiid to be injured. Not a single person who is a fan of the NBA that wants to see good young talent wants that. Still, at this point, for all we know, it could be inevitable.
Embiid fell to the floor on Friday night during a game that resulted in yet another win for the Sixers. After putting down a huge dunk, Embiid landed on both of his feet, and hyperextended one of his knees. Embiid went back and forth to the medical room several times to get examined, and the staff eventually ruled him out for the game.
Embiid did not play in the following game, but that was to be expected as he has still not been cleared to play in back-to-back games. But the team saying that they called up Richaun Holmes as a result of Embiid’s injury makes it seem as if his injury could be something serious.
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Neither the team nor Embiid have had a chance to really give any specific detail about the injury, but maybe Sixers fans should be preparing for the worst. Of course, no Philly sports fan wants their big man that they waited for for two seasons due to injury to sit out for a long period of time due to another injury, but as stated earlier, some things are inevitable.
While a possibility of Embiid’s injury being bad at this point is only speculation, there is some good that would come out of him being out of the lineup, and it all relates to Ben Simmons.
Simmons was drafted with the first overall pick in the draft, and has since not played in a single game due to foot injuries of his own. The team has been rehabbing his injury all year, and he has been progressing quickly, recently participating in 5-on-0 drills and sitting with the team during home games.
It’s clear that Simmons might be back soon, and a lot of experts are expecting him to be back right before the All-Star break — which is actually coming up quite fast. If Embiid goes down now, and Simmons comes back in a few weeks, he could have the stage and really take over this team for the rest of the year.
It’s something we thought about earlier this season with Embiid. If Simmons were back with the team from the start, Embiid might not have gotten off to the incredible start that he did because Simmons would have chipped into his high usage rate, at least a little bit.
Without Embiid to rely on, he may be able to take over the game in more areas and score more, thus giving him a bigger portion of the stage and a greater opportunity to prove himself to the NBA.
Having two young players on the same team that are debuting at the same time and figuring out their way in the NBA can be troublesome. While Embiid and Simmons are both fundamentally sound, their inexperience when paired together will undoubtedly show at some points in the early stages of their individual and team development.
Now, while Embiid sitting out could be a good thing, something should be noted. First of all, the ideal plan A is to have Simmons and Embiid healthy for the rest of this season when Simmons gets back. Embiid’s injury has the potential to be bad, but not much has been reported, and this is a lot of speculation. And while I do see benefits to Simmons getting the court to himself for a little bit, the best long-term option is to have Embiid and Simmons on the floor together, and to get them working together early. Their skill sets don’t really clash at all, and there’s a lot of overlaps to how they play their game.
So let’s not get crazy and start hoping for an Embiid injury, please.
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So, as we wait on news regarding Embiid’s knee, let’s hope for the best — no news is good news — but expect the worst. Even if we get the worst, the consequence is a version of Ben Simmons with greater responsibility, something that allows him to show what he can truly be in the NBA. And if he’s anything like the hype, his true potential is pretty darn good.
That increased responsibility as a result of an Embiid injury is something I’m okay with — that’s to say I could come to terms with it — and although I’d never ask for Embiid to be injured, I would hope that something good comes out of it if he is, in fact, more hurt than we think.