The Philadelphia 76ers have just finished their Media Day session, and now, the team is on full throttle with their rare excursion abroad to partake in the league’s customary preseason games held abroad. The squad will be heading to Abu Shabi this time, where they are set to take on their rivals, the Knicks, for two preseason outings.
Players and personnel both addressed numerous questions yesterday, shedding light on various topics, most notably injuries and updates about impending moves and whatnot. Of course, the situations of Joel Embiid and Paul George drew a lot of curious eyes whilst the new Jared McCain injury situation and the front office’s ongoing standstill with restricted free agent Quentin Grimes also did not evade inquiry.
In one of the exchanges with members of the media, team president Daryl Morey was asked about how the team is handling the health of players, primarily when it comes to Embiid and George who missed a combined total of 104 outings last season. However, suffice to say that once more, he did not offer anything new and sustainable for fans to hold onto moving forward.
”This is straight from the doctors: we're not getting into the expectations game. The doctor's advice, what Joel said about listening to his body, that's going to be what carries the day this year.”
Daryl Morey offers nothing new for the 76ers on the injury prevention front
The longtime executive simply acknowledged the undeniable reality that both Embiid and George’s playing statuses will be flukey moving forward. However, that is to be expected at this point, and by interjecting it, Morey is only indulging himself in an echo chamber.
Truth be told, the 76ers seem to not have a tangible, no-holds-barred plan to prevent injuries from racking up. And aside from the lack of verbal attestations with regard to this matter, the front office’s maneuverings likewise point to this scathing omission from their grand plan.
Philadelphia still has not addressed its need to bolster the forward and center positions with proven commodities. As of the moment, the coaching staff will have to make do with the team’s relatively untested options to man such crucial roles. Stated differently, the team is not really incentivized nor equipped with the internal leverage to reduce the load on those older stars.
As the old creed dows, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, the 76ers seem to not be attuned to such a longstanding edict, which is made more appalling by the fact that they, of all teams, must be especially religious to such a disposition.
Oh well.