Despite playing more than expected, Joel Embiid still spent plenty of time on the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers in their opening night loss.
Opening night brought Philadelphia 76ers fans much of what they had hoped for. Ben Simmons looks like a stud, while Joel Embiid showed out without a significant cap on his minutes. Even Markelle Fultz had his moments, doing good things around the basket while mitigating the issues that come with a limited jumper.
With all of that said, Embiid’s playing time is still one of the more important storylines from what ended in a 120-115 loss to the Wizards. He didn’t stick to the “teens” minutes restriction that Brett Brown had initially indicated, but didn’t take on a full workload either. We saw 26 minutes of Embiid in all, with some heavy doses of Amir Johnson and Dario Saric/Simmons small ball in between.
That isn’t the kind of full-blown run that fans have been itching for, and Embiid dropped a hint after the game as to why he isn’t putting in 30 minutes-plus at this point in the season:
Embiid says that it’s time to stop referring to his game plan as a minutes restriction. Simply says if he’s tired, he’ll sit.
— Jake Pavorsky (@JakePavorsky) October 19, 2017
This is one of the more intriguing notes to come out regarding Embiid’s health thus far. Not only was Embiid’s injury not something that typically takes this long to recover from, but it appears that the majority of Philadelphia’s caution has been based on conditioning — not actual health issues.
That would, of course, make sense. Embiid said he was up around 285 pounds, a significant increase in weight for somebody who hasn’t been able to workout in full this offseason. The odds are that he didn’t add 15 pounds of pure muscle to an already-robust frame.
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He also played his first preseason game directly after signing his max extension. That likely means he waited for an extension before committing to extensive playing time, not his knee to heal.
As somebody whose size, strength and general play style are conducive to re-injury, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious with Embiid moving forward. That doesn’t mean his health is a significant concern at this point, though, and that means Sixers fans can — for the time being — rest a little easier.
In the game itself, Embiid’s Wednesday night was highlighted by strong moments and some persistent rustiness once the second half rolled around. He still put up 18 points and 13 rebounds in limited minutes, but had some ill-advised turnovers and poor decisions that forced him out of rhythm.
He also played in the pocket more than we’re used to. That could be because the coaching staff convinced him to take fewer in-air gambles, but it could also equate to a lack of energy — something that would fit the narrative of poor early season conditioning.
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Regardless of what the issue was, any player who has an average game and puts up that kind of stat line is in a good spot. Embiid should continue to gain comfort as the season progresses, and the new presence of Ben Simmons and J.J. Redick will obviously make the game easier on the offensive end.