As a well-informed NBA fan could probably glean from their record, the Philadelphia 76ers have once again fallen victim to the injury bug this season, just like they have always been. But this time around, the team’s lack of a clean bill of health on a nightly basis has pushed them down the drain, culminating in a 19-28 record that would have been shocking for any early season crystal ball enjoyers.
Joel Embiid has already missed 34 out of 47 games this season. Paul George had already sat out 17 outings due to injuries. Even the usually Iron Man-ish Tyrese Maxey was sidelined on seven different occasions. And the list goes on for the 76ers
To curb the prevalence of load management and heed to the longtime call for a more reasonable regular season slate for all teams, Adam Silver and his crew have been seeking out ways to respond to this issue. But so far, all that have been offered are mere surface-level solutions that serve no sustainable purpose. Heck, this time around, the Silver is pitching a pretty controversial rule change in hopes of thwarting the problem.
The 76ers would actually benefit if Adam Silver implements proposed 10-minute quarters
The NBA Commissioner went on The Dan Patrick Show just recently and was asked about some of the “wildest” rule changes he had considered. Silver then went on to bare the fact that he has been toying with the idea of shortening the length of quarters from 12 to 10 minutes, which sparked some divisive sentiments among fans and pundits alike.
Many assailed the fact that Silver is making an unnecessary change when he could simply turn to lessening the games ech team has to play each season — something that had already been on most teams’ radar for years already.
But to be candid, if that rule change were to be implemented anytime in the foreseeable future, the 76ers would actually benefit one of the unique beneficiaries of such switch-up. It is now public knowledge that Embiid will never be 100 percent anymore and george is now on a steep decline. Decreasing the load on those players by putting an automatic limiter on how much they can see the court could very well prolong their careers.
Even Maxey would stand to benefit. Nick Nurse and his coaching staff have given him way too many minutes on a nightly basis this season, logging the second-highest minutes per game average in the entire association. Naturally, this poses some risk for him, even though that aspect is still latent at this point in time.
The Philadelphia 76ers need all the help they can get as they seek to right the ship moving forward. And while far from ideal, getting aid in the form of a rule changes that could especially benefit them would be one way of getting a head start to meet their purpose.