The Philadelphia 76ers have undoubtedly been the biggest flops of the season, but they have yet to encounter the lowest of lows. In the middle of a seven-game losing streak, the team remains on deck for a pretty brutal slate of upcoming contests, casting a massive cloud on their ability to crack the playoffs this year.
At the forefront of the 76ers’ problems is the never-ending trend of Joel Embiid missing games due to injury. So far, he has been a pretty rare spawn on a nightly basis, having only suited up in 13 out of 42 games. Just recently, the team confirmed that the superstar ran through another setback on his left knee, causing him to miss time after previously being tagged with a day-to-day status.
Philadelphia undeniably finds itself in an unenviable positions. They have already committed a lot of bucks and time to their current nucleus of Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George, and all three have been underwhelming in their first year together. This begs the question: how long will the franchise endure the danger zone that is Embiid?
Joel Embiid situation could get really ugly much faster for the 76ers
Embiid’s latest timeline following his setback is pretty quick (seven to 10 days), but we’re speaking in euphemistic, Joel Embiid terms here. If he failed to be in uniform for a single game when he was pegged as day-to-day, what more in his current designated status?
In fact, the 76ers are already feeling a brewing sense of frustration from inside. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the team has already been already drowning in that sentiment for the whole season.
“From my understanding even today from what I hear Joel Embiid remains rehabbing, continuing to try to do everything he can to get back on the floor but there have been frustrations from my understanding throughout the year of not having him there.”
Clearly, there is a cumulative sense of stagnation for the franchise. Embiid, despite being capable of putting up MVP-level numbers on a nightly basis when healthy, is just an unfixable cog right now health-wise. He is already on the wrong side of 30, and there is very little precedence for injury-prone players being more durable into their 30s.
Some pundits are already calling on Philadelphia to do what was once difficult to comprehend by trading Embiid elsewhere. That has not gotten any traction this season due to obvious reasons, but it is certainly developing into a tenable road for the front office moving forward.
The Philadelphia 76ers have just began their second half of the season, but all the energies around them suggest they are simply finished. The lack of Joel Embiid is a major factor behind it, but for what it is worth, the situation around the superstar will persist well beyond this campaign.