4 reasons the Philadelphia 76ers are not sleepers

Reason 2

Another reason we can’t dismiss the 76ers as a sleeper is because of Joel Embiid’s self-admitted sluggish start. For a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeves, he has really long sleeves. Over the summer, his two favorite teammates were not re-signed. He had the cloud of playoff unfitness hanging over his head, convincing him to not play as hard in order to better preserve his health for April. Both contributed to his sulky mentality that led to his numbers dropping. Boo hoo.

In media sessions, he claimed he was not having fun. He came into the season feeding reporters what they wanted to hear, but was he really ready to deliver? He lamented all of his trash talking in the past and swore he would cease his childish Tweets and Instagram posts.

What happened? He got into a fight with Karl Anthony-Towns and reenacted a Rocky Balboa shadow boxing routine while entertaining the crowd after his ejection. Also, who could ever forget the donut game versus the Toronto Raptors? True, the last time he had played there, the Sixers were eliminated on Kawhi Leonard’s last second shot, and Embiid cried himself off the court. Yet, that should have been no excuse to have a stat line worse than the last guy on the bench who never removed his warm up suit.

It was easy to see how unhappy he was at points early in the season with his deflated demeanor showing its sad self. Yet, it has been months since Embiid has played competitively. That itch has to be scratched. This helps us conclude that it is why he was lauded by Brett Brown to have been in the gym, working harder than any other Sixers player.

In recent interviews, he appears more focused and motivated to be the leader the team needs him to be. This hiatus has given him a chance to reflect and get in tip top shape, so we can expect a more serious Embiid once the courts open in Orlando. As the old adage goes, “It’s not how you start — it’s how you finish.”