Philadelphia 76ers Bryan Colangelo, Honeymoon Is Over

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Feb 8, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) practices before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Unhealthy Matters Reveal Unhealthier Practices

Event III: Joel Embiid’s Health

The Philadelphia 76ers have been overly cautious with star rookie Joel Embiid this season. Joel Embiid is a player on minutes restrictions. In fact, he plays under minutes restriction, load restrictions (no back to back games) and even walks to the locker room if he takes a hard fall on the basketball court. He’s the franchise guy.

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But Joel Embiid has been following the same track as Jahlil Okafor’s rookie season so far. A year earlier, Okafor suffered knee pain that eventually led to knee surgery. Right now, Joel Embiid is on the same track. The disappointing part? The news is just as poorly available from the team as the Okafor matter a year prior.

Don’t Bruise Embiid’s Ego

The team insisted on Joel Embiid’s injury was a bone bruise. But Derek Bodner, a top notch Philadelphia 76ers sports writer, broke the news about the knee suffering from a meniscus tear. While the meniscus tear is not a career ending risk, it’s certainly far more serious than a “day by day” knee bruise.

The fact now is that three strikes and you’re out. What began as a promising changing of the guard (at least in terms of getting accurate timely updates on key players) has devolved into something of a need-to-know basis. With Ben Simmons out for the season, and already with a team winning more games than at any time in the past three season, there is a presumption that Joel Embiid will be shut down for the season as well.