With the Philadelphia 76ers continuing to pile up losses, qualifying for the playoffs, while still a remote possibility for the team, is beginning to look like a futile missive. After all, there is just not a lot of fight out of this team to warrant the belief that they can make noise therein. Just making it into the play-in tournament already seems tedious.
The 76ers, despite bagging a record of 20-35 (tied with the deliberately tanking Brooklyn Nets), are still just 1.5 games behind the 10th-seeded Chicago Bulls. However, that has been the case for months already, and Philly has not even made it to 10th place thanks to their inability to stop giving fans embarrassing performances on a nightly basis.
Only 27 games remain on their schedule, and if they do not get their act together, the 76ers will be poised to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season, putting a huge red mark on what has otherwise been a stable stretch for the franchise led by their superstar center in Joel Embiid.
Trainer says there is a lot more to the Joel Embiid situation than 76ers fans think
One of the biggest factors behind the 76ers’ disappointing outfit this season is Joel Embiid not being able to replicate his usual production. The All-Star center said so himself, and his recurring knee issues have only made it much more difficult for him to suit up in every game, lest meet the lofty expectations associated with an MVP-caliber player.
However, it seems like there is a lot more to his situation than what fans might think. Renowned NBA skills trainer Drew Hanlen hopped on The Hoop Collective podcast just recently and gave his thoughts on what could be brewing for Embiid and his health issues.
Hanlen (alongside ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne) spoke in more general terms, but noted Embiid as a prime example of how fans utterly refuse to heed to the reality that coverage over similar situations is flawed, and that in turn, they become desensitized to the implications of having a long-term vision, such as injury management.
“Players are the most skilled they've ever been. They make shots more than they've ever (had). ... The concepts and the details that coaches do is at an all-time high. It's the fan that is at an all-time low. Fans only care about hitting their parlays. They care about their fantasy teams. Fans don't really care about championships until it comes down to hating on people for championships”.
He definitely isn’t lying, that’s for sure. Inasmuch as it is frustrating to see Embiid miss a ton of games, Philadelphia, as a franchise, is simply erring on the side of both reason and caution in taking a pretty conservative approach with the superstar. At this point, fans ought to know that this really isn’t about meeting short-term goals anymore, but adapting to a norm they will have to deal with moving forward.
But if there is anyone more frustrated about the situation, it’s Embiid himself. Everyone knows what he is still capable of, but the hard pill to swallow is that his overflowing talent may not be easily contained within his not-so-durable frame anymore.
The Philadelphia 76ers will continue with their trek to make the playoffs this season, but if they fall short of that goal, it should perhaps be considered a big consolation if Joel Embiid comes out unscathed and ready to go for a big bounce back next season.