Should the Philadelphia 76ers Tank With Joel Embiid Injured?

With center Joel Embiid out with a torn meniscus, the question remains- should the Philadelphia 76ers throw the rest of this season away?

Well, here goes nothing. For a team that desperately needs good press more than anything, the Philadelphia 76ers might have shot themselves in the foot. With the recent Joel Embiid meniscus injury, could the Sixers go into tank mode?

This season proves that one guy can make a big difference in basketball. If you find that star-calliber piece to your puzzle, it can all turn around. Joel Embiid turned the Sixers into a must-follow team practically overnight.

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Ever since Allen Iverson got traded, the Philadelphia 76ers were unwatchable. Obviously, nothing about the team was interesting. As a fan, you wondered when the team would finally make the jump to prominence. That era proved troublesome, as nothing beneficial came out of it. If anything, the end of that era sparked the rebuild.

Now, with the rebuild came critics. Fans and media alike wondered what the logic behind it was. In many cases, the the idea of an uncompetitive team scared the masses. Yet, when the team finished 8th in the east year in and year out, no one batted an eye.

The rebuild helped make the Sixers relevant again. The NBA Draft evolved into a day of celebration for Process-Trusters. We marveled at Sam Hinkie’s selections, hoping that they would soon contribute to the long-term goals for the team. One of those selections actually worked out, so far, in Joel Embiid.

Now, the injury itself makes Philadelphia 76ers fans cringe. The idea that Joel Embiid got hurt again scares us to no end. When you consider how much of an impact he has made for the team, you can see why.

How the Injury Affects Embiid

In half of a season, Joel Embiid turned the Sixers from a laughing stock into a team of intrigue. Before Embiid’s first game, people wondered whether or not he could even play at a high level. His injury history obviously didn’t help. Since then, Joel Embiid has solidified himself as a potential star for years to come.

Then came the meniscus tear. Originally, this injury was reported as a left knee contusion. This basically means that JoJo had a bone bruise. These injuries tend to be minor and quick-healing. The original logic dictated that Embiid wouldn’t spend much time on the shelf. If anything, this injury heals on its own and no serious actions should follow.

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However, it turns out that Joel Embiid tore his meniscus in his left knee. Just the name of the injury scares the average fan. Knees and big men have never had a great relationship. Just ask Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum. We all know what happened to those guys.

But, for fairness’ sake, let me remind you how minor this injury is. In essence, this sort of injury takes 2 to 4 weeks to heal. Now, I’m not a doctor, but that seems relatively decent if you think about it. The name of the injury itself makes you think “Oh, God, he’ll never play ball again”. Thankfully, this isn’t the case.

For all we know, the past few weeks have been a period of nursing the torn meniscus. But a year ago (this time coincidentally), the team was sorting through Jahlil Okafor’s torn meniscus issues. . It wouldn’t surprise me if Embiid makes a return post-All-Star Break. Unfortunately, that means he almost certainly won’t compete in the Skills Challenge, but hey, I’d rather see him playing meaningful ball again soon.

How the Injury Affects The Sixers

Obviously, the team made some ill-advised decisions during this fiasco. They should not have let Embiid come back in for the Portland Trailblazers game. The front office (and perhaps the athletic training staff) made a dumb choice in letting him do so. This does against everything the current regime has preached.

The entire point of the minutes restriction centered around keeping Embiid healthy. If he gets hurt, you pull the cord for that game. Sending him back in makes no sense in that regard. Even if he felt fine, you can’t put him at risk to worsen the injury.

On top of that, the Sixers had Joel Embiid play in a game against the Houston Rockets. Even though he played well, you could tell that he was hurting a little bit. Mind you, this game was nationally televised, and the front office probably wanted to showcase Embiid to the world.

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Now, some might say that the team had no idea about Embiid’s torn MCL. Those same few might argue that by showing off his dominance, the Sixers earned some credibility. The fact that he dominated the way he did still boggles my mind, but it still doesn’t make sense to risk further injury only 3 games after getting hurt.

So, the key for the Sixers going forward comes back to the key to the beginning of the season: preservation. It doesn’t mean that Embiid can’t play the rest of the season, but monitoring his health for the remainder of the season could make a huge difference. Rushing guys back from injury, regardless of severity, could prove harmful. Again, see Greg Oden.

Endgame

The idea of the Sixers tanking again scares the media. It puts this stigma in their heads that tanking equals poor-quality basketball. In actuality, the Sixers don’t have any expectations of making the playoffs. They currently sit as the 13th seed with a 20-34 record. While they play hard and strive for success, it doesn’t really matter where they end up in the standings.

The key here should focus on developing talent and putting themselves in the best position to collect draft picks. This draft class has proven to be very interesting. With this guard-heavy draft could come very appealing rewards. The Sixers need to take advantage of this now.

With a roster with the center depth that the Sixers have, why risk hurting Embiid even more? You already have serviceable bigs in Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes who can do the dirty work. With Jahlil Okafor potentially on the move, you most likely gain assets at other positions. It does not have to be a tank. It can simply come down to how the Sixers approach Embiid’s health going forward.

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Now, tanking at this point in the season seems a bit much. The Sixers don’t need to shut Embiid down for the year, but taking a conservative approach could work. The remainder of the season should consist of working in Embiid and Ben Simmons for future success. Make sure that these two can work together, and also get an idea of what kind of personnel you need to surround them with. Hopefully, the Sixers front office can learn from their mistakes and rectify them to ensure a  decade of success.