THE The Philadelphia 76ers They have no chance in the NBA playoffs if superstar big man Joel Embiid isn’t on the court.
The bad news for the Sixers is that Embiid’s biggest obstacle is his health. He regularly misses time in the regular season and playoffs, but dominates during his less-than-ideal stretches of action. averaged a career-high 34.7 points on 52.9 percent shooting from the field in just 39 games last season.
Even when he does appear in the playoffs, it’s usually not at full strength, making the goal set by ESPN’s Tim Legler nearly impossible.
“When you look at Embiid’s career and the number of injuries that derailed his playoff run, you can tell the way the guys played alongside him were those co-stars,” Legler said on NBA Today“First of all, he has Tyrese Maxey, a guy who most people consider unflappable, a real talent. Now you have to add Paul George. The talent is not a question, the talent is there.”
The addition of George should ease the pressure on the 76ers’ center, especially in the regular season. Embiid won’t feel the pressure to play every night if George can fill the role of the No. 1 scoring option.
“You have to be as good over a two-month period as you’ve been in the regular season, year in and year out. He hasn’t been able to do that yet,” Legler said.[Embiid needs] “He’s got to step up in the playoffs, be on the field every night, be consistent and be 100 percent. He hasn’t done that yet for this franchise.”
Legler’s expectations for Embiid make sense given he’s in the midst of his best season, but expecting his injuries to go away isn’t realistic.
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