The Philadelphia 76ers have dished out a mixed bag of news as of late. On one hand, the team has looked good this preseason when their regulars have played. On the other, Joel Embiid has went on to say that he's unlikely to play in back-to-backs for the rest of his career while Paul George has just hyperextended his knee. Yikes.
Injuries are never a welcome sight for anyone, especially for a 76ers team hinging its championship hopes on a couple of high-end, yet injury-prone stars. With all due respect, the franchise has not shot at the title if Embiid and George are not healthy enough.
The injury bug's proverbial excursion, however, has not only been constrained to Philly before the regular season. Another team has already been reeling from its bite, and will continue to do so for quite some time.
The 76ers get big advantage after rival team's injury news
LIke the 76ers, the Knicks have massive plans this season. After trading for Mikal Bridges this offseason, they proceeded to make a swap for Karl-Anthony Towns shortly before training camp, greatly enhancing their prospects as a title contender in 2024-25.
However, Shams Charania, now with ESPN, suddenly revealed that their best interior defender, Mitchell Robinson, is expected to miss at least the entire 2024 calendar year, stripping the Knicks of their lone defensive-minded big man.
This redounds to the 76ers' benefit. While Towns is not necessarily a terrible defender, he is no defensive savant. He has long struggled as a de facto enforcer, only thriving last season thanks to eventual Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert covering his deficiencies.
Towns has no hope of slowing down a healthy Embiid, and that's already being modest. Just last season, Embiid dropped 51 on him and Gobert.
While Robinson is not expected to start anyway, he's the lone pillar on that Knicks roster who has the tools to slow Embiid down. At 7'1", he is their best hope at handling him one-on-one, and without him, Tom Thibodeau will once again be forced to resort conceding shots to other players on the 76ers.
Problem is, Philly has a more talented supporting cast this season. Gone are the days of Tobias Harris, et al. playing for both sides with his inability to punish defenses doubling down on Embiid consistently.
But first of all, the 76ers have to hope that Embiid comes out unscathed for the most part. Avoiding injury, after all, is perhaps their biggest obstacle if they want to claim the championship this season.