NBA fragility is not just Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid thing

If you watched the NBA opener of Cleveland Cavaliers face Boston Celtics, you likely witnessed the horrific injury to new Celtic Gordon Hayward. That contest proves that fragility is not just a Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid thing

The NBA season is now. Games count. The regular season is underway. And the millions of Philadelphia 76ers fans worldwide have had the concept of fragility beaten into them constantly whenever the name of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid comes up.

Now don’t get me wrong. I get it. 31 games played from 246 games possible is a small number to argue that Joel Embiid’s health is not a significant issue to consider. And the Philadelphia 76ers hopes for post season play runs through Joel Embiid.

And there is the rub.

All recognize Embiid’s impact

No NBA fans rooting for another NBA team can successfully argue that the Philadelphia 76ers are not a good team with a healthy Joel  Embiid. He elevates the play of the entire team. The Philadelphia 76ers lost three games without him in preseason, and won two games convincingly with him.

On one hand, that is his impact for the 76ers. On the other hand, that is his impact in the entire NBA. And the Philadelphia 76ers have only had 31 of 264 games worth of his play.

Fans are starving for more.

But the remainder of the NBA poo poohs that perception. They point to the track record of an Embiid-less team and chortle at any belief of significant improvement of the team. When all else fails, the opposition points to Embiid’s health and cites “fragility”.  But the NBA is filled with fragility issues.

Celtics Gordon Hayward knows that more than anyone this morning.

Hayward injury proves NBA is a dangerous game

The Boston Celtics overhauled their entire lineup. Gordon Hayward is considered one of the key pieces needed to elevate the Celtics play to surpass that of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last night’s faceoff was intended to establish that hierarchy. Only the unthinkable happened. Hayward fell to a horrific injury.

And there it is. NBA fragility to a star of a non-Philadlephia team. And today, all NBA fans pray for the healthy and speedy recovery of Gordon Hayward.

But has anyone started out their day predicting a 20 or 30 win season for the Boston Celtics today? Not exactly.  The league still considers the Boston Celtics a significant force in the NBA Eastern Conference.

But are they?

Embiid means more to Philly than Hayward means to Boston?

It’s tough to speculate the impact of an individual player on the future of an NBA team. Statistically, objective minds weigh the team before the injury, after the injury, and deduce the difference is that player.

But Gordon Hayward has no such “before” track with the Celtics. Embiid barely does. So the only other path is to infer speculative analysis.  How good is the backup player compared to the injured one? How much did the team use the injured player?

Related Story: Joel Embiid to play under minutes restriction

But as we debate the right or wrong of Joel Embiid’s  minute restrictions, keep in mind that this is a decision considering the “long haul”.  That is 82 games, plus a string of playoff games.

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That’s a lot of basketball.

So the “Embiid is fragile” accusation is simply the campfire chanting of those who want to deflate the optimism of the Philadelphia 76ers fanbase. Each NBA player is “fragile”.  If you don’t believe me, watch the footage of last night’s game. Or ask a Boston Celtics fan.  Injuries are part of this game.  It’s not just a Joel Embiid thing.