NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers will visit the New York Knicks on Sunday night for Game 64 of the season. Philadelphia is currently at 35-28 because they had a tough hand.
Joel Embiid has missed 29 games this season and hasn’t played since Jan. 29 due to surgery on his left knee meniscus. Tyrese Maxey has missed time lately due to a concussion. De’Anthony Melton missed significant time with a back issue. Robert Covington missed time with a knee issue.
Then there are the big trades to acquire Buddy Hield and Cam Payne as well as the buyout of Kyle Lowry. One has to wonder whenever Embiid returns, will the Sixers have enough time to build chemistry?
“We miss Joel,” Lowry said Friday following a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. “We missed Tyrese the last two games. I think we have time to figure it out, but you know, we just want to be healthy and get to a position where we can compete.
Chemistry is an underrated aspect of an NBA team. The Sixers are currently working on integrating Hield into the fabric of what they want to accomplish, and then when Embiid returns, there will be a bit of an adjustment as well.
“This is the only time we have,” added Tobias Harris. “So, we have to find out, but do I feel like that gives us enough time?” Of course.”
It has to be assumed that Embiid will return at the end of March. There has been no official update on the big guy yet, but his procedure is normally a 6-8 week recovery. Just to play guesswork, let’s say he returns on March 27 when Philadelphia returns from a West Coast trip. Is this enough to get everyone on the same page? Only time will tell.
