Philadelphia 76ers Fans Learned Healthy Does Not Mean Playing Time

Numerous injuries to Philadelphia 76ers forced fans to religiously follow healing timelines with almost religious fervor. All too often, those same fans learned the hard way that medically healthy is not the same as playing time

The plight of the Philadelphia 76ers roster throughout the 2016-2017 season was one injured player after another. While the frequency itself has stirred up fan unrest, there were plenty of reasons for fan frustration this year.

Of course, the most obvious reason is the frequency of player injury.  The team carried two or three players injured nearly the entire season (Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless, Joel Embiid/Nerlens Noel).  And while the team faced opponents despite being outmanned, fans rallied to their side in each contest.  After all, this was the team that entered 2017 with and 8-24 record, and finished 28-54.

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Ground Rules

Let’s start separating some issues right off the bat.  The players of the Philadelphia 76ers play hard from the opening buzzer to moments after the final buzzer sounds.   And as far as coaching? I don’t see how any NBA head coach could squeeze any more success from this team than head coach Brett Brown this year. On the court and on the bench, this group gave their all.

Along the way, the team lost quite a few players.  It was how those injuries were communicated were presented to the fans that left quite a bit to be desired.

Wounded Along The Way

As the season advanced through preseason into season into the new year, players began to fall off due to injuries. It was a wash/rinse/repeat process.

Ben Simmons (Foot, September 30, 2016),
Nerlens Noel (Knee, October 16, 2016),
Jerryd Bayless (Wrist, November 16, 2016),
Joel Embiid (Knee, January 27, 2017),
Jahlil Okaofr (Knee, March 24, 2017),
Sergio Rodriguez (Hamstring, March 27, 2017)
Robert Covington (Knee, March 28, 2017)

You Hurt A Knee, and You Hurt A Knee and Everyone Hurt A Knee

Is it sheer coincidence that three players were shut down due to knee injuries within four days of one another?  Perhaps, but that is a much longer discussion to be held in the near future.

The problem was the process of baiting fans into false hopes of injured players returning to the lineup.  Do you recall the fervor over Ben Simmons return near the end of January 2017?  How about the minor injury to Joel Embiid?

Major Minor

And not to leave out Jahlil Okafor, whose knee issues seemed to magnify as the season wore on. Ultimately, he scheduled minor knee surgery as well.

So in the words of a famous line from the cinema, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE..

Philadelphia Perception Problem

It was clearly due to a Philadelphia perception problem. But whose perception?   And on the same subject, which side needs to fix things the most?

Well, let’s start with the players.  Their hands are tied. This is their future, and in spite of medical evidence supporting cautious protocols, most players want to compete.  Let’s also wash the hands of the head coach.  Brett Brown works with one of the most constrictive minutes allotments on any NBA roster and makes it work.  He never shows any signs of dissension, and only rarely let’s a “its tough to do” slip into social media.

Too Hot, Too Cold, Never Just Right

There is always a risk of too much or too little details in injury reports.  If too little information is given, there is a risk of underestimating the down time for the player.  If too much information is shared, there is a risk of overestimating the down time for the player.  Ultimately, it is virtually impossible to share injury reports that give everyone just enough information.

On the other hand, medical science has developed a wide array of methods designed to heal a professional athlete.  To a lay person, healing simply means getting back to a minimal level of functionality.  To the NBA player, healing is comprised of three stages:

Stage I: post op recovery,
Stage II: Rehab,
Stage III: Full strength can play.

When quoted on recovery time, oftentimes the initial assessment cites the medical healing, which usually only extends to stage II. Keep in mind, once an athlete is cleared to resume training, it can still be months to rebuild strengtho to endure competitive play.

Fan Role

Now let’s examine the  fans’ role in this. Fans have been asked to be very patient in Philadelphia for the past two years.  This year, the organization doubled down by forcing fans to await the debut of Ben Simmons, plus the return to health of Joel Embiid.

Part of the issue is upon fan perception. A broken bone in a foot can be a matter of four weeks to heal, and perhaps four more weeks to rehab up to full strength. A different broken bone in the foot can take up to two years to heal.  The difference in time is based on a myriad of factors, but the most telling is the abundance of blood supply.

A Puzzling Issue

As fans, issues tend to over simplify.  A meniscus tear is almost entirely dependent upon the orientation, the severity, the location, the complexity, and the methods used to repair the site. Stated another way, think of an injury in the terms of a puzzle.  On one hand, some puzzles are 10 pieces. On the other hand, some puzzles are 5,000 pieces. Meanwhile, some puzzle designs are straight-forward. But on the other hand, some puzzles are intricate. Finally, on one hand some puzzles are two-dimensional. On the other hand, some puzzles are three-dimensional.

Now, how long will it take you to solve the puzzle?  It depends.

Front Office Does No Favors

As if the issues are not confusing enough, the front office has not won many awards for transparency this season.  Bob Cooney from Philly.com wrote a blisteringly pointed article that exposes the gorey details magnificently.   His complaint? Joel Embiid’s bone bruise to a minor meniscus tear to shutting Embiid down and performing surgery did not do much to boost confidence that the narrative ever approached reality.

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If this is the service about the premier player on the team, imagine the casual nature of such players like Jahlil Okafor?  Here was a player with meniscus surgery to end his season at the end of the 2015-2016 season, and the soreness remained well into the 2016-2017 season.

Flagged!

Liberty Ballers Kyle Neubeck raised the flag early on the situation.  Unfortunately, the entire matter never gained enough traction.  But it was not due to a lack of coverage.  Keith Pompey of Philly.com birddogged the matter throughout the season, raising the issue in articles that seldom garnered official team responses.  But there was more than Philadelphia beat writers taking notice.

Oleh Kosel of TheBirdWrites.com, a SB Nation site for the New Orleans Pelicans, unloaded a host of “caveat emptors” upon the possible trade of Jahlil Okafor to any NBA team.  This was the type of situation the ownership wanted to remedy with the change to Bryan Colangelo. Instead, they have apparently doused the flames of distrust with barrels of Colangelo Kerosene.

Trade Needs Trust, To a Point

The trade situation for Philadelphia 76ers have been inhibited. So far, fans believed it was too high of an asking price. But what if the trading partners simply have next to zero confidence in the health of players.

COMING SOON: PART TWO of this series. Philadelphia 76ers Health Epidemic: Cause, Concern, Conspiracy?

Eventually, the team has to get a handle on this issue.  With 15 players for 82 games, carrying two players on injured status all season is simply unacceptable. Three players diagnosed with knee injuries in four days is another “flag”.

This issue does not just fade into the sunset. The Philadelphia 76ers front office needs to step up rapidly.  This is not just a public relations matter.  It’s advanced to the point of corporate effectiveness.  Philadelphia 76ers fans have learned that “healthy” does not mean playing time. Now the Philadelphia 76ers organization needs to learn that Honesty is the Best Policy.