Nearly everything is topsy-turvy when it comes to dishing out predictions before the season even begins. For the Philadelphia 76ers, that partakes the form of expecting the team to somehow turn in a cleaner bill of health when all signs point to that wish being way too ambitious in account of precedence and all.
No player embodies that more than Joel Embiid. The 76ers superstar has appeared in a combined 58 games over the last couple of seasons. IN the most recent campaign, he was in uniform for only 19 outings, never really playing up to par with his usual level and showing some intimidating signs of injury-related decline.
Philly’s brass has also been dead silent about Embiid’s status for next season this summer, although a recent clip in practice showed him being an active participant therein without having any protective equipment or gear on his injured knee. Naturally, that galvanized a good chunk of the fanbase, especially since it seemed like he may even get a chance to suit up in the preseason.
Fans need to lower their horses, though. After all, that really does not change anything in the grand scheme of things. Tempering expectations on the former Most Valuable Player would be an exercise of prudence.
The 76ers should lower their expectations for Joel Embiid next season
One, short video clip taken from practice will not change the fact that Embiid remains a colossal question mark who may never get a firm resolution moving forward. Realistically speaking, the 76ers will only have to manage his situation given that his knee injuries have become too chronic of an issue.
Next season, with Philadelphia already having the most tiring schedule in the NBA, the coaching staff will rest Embiid as much as they can in order to preserve him for the playoff race. And even in games where he is playing, he will most likely never play above 35 minutes just to err on the side of caution.
And even those scenarios presuppose a best-case scenario of him suiting up for the most part. If that is the ceiling, one could only imagine what the floor would look like.
We have not even talked about how his numbers could dip given that his role should be recalibrated and minutes lowered.
As a result, it would be much better for fans to expect that Joel Embiid will not be felt much next season for the 76ers, either intentionally or unintentionally.