It’s been an injury-riddled career for promising Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, and there could be even more bad news on the horizon.
According to Philadelphia Inquirer Sixers Beat Writer Keith Pompey, it appears that Embiid will be out indefinitely. He has soreness and swelling in his left knee, and this is just the latest of his ever-expanding injury history. As Philly fans know, the talented big simply can’t stay on the floor. He missed the first two seasons of his career due to a right navicular bone break (which he then rebroke), and now it appears there could be knee issues going forward.
It’s rough for such a loyal fan base. Embiid took the league by storm this season with his play and engaging personality, and I really hope he can carve out a quality career. The “rookie” is averaging incredible numbers for being on a minutes restriction: 20.2 points, 7.8 boards and his effective field goal percentage is 50.8. That’s in his first 31 games in the NBA while playing only 25.4 minutes per night.
In addition, the big fella has shown he can step out and knock down the three ball. He’s making 36.7 percent of his threes. To put that into context, model unicorn and three-point specialist Kristaps Porzingis is making 37.8 percent from deep. The Zinger is also shooting 4.9 threes while making 1.9 per night.
Embiid is knocking down fewer (1.2 makes per game) while only attempting 3.2. Porzingis also has an effective field goal rate of 51 percent. That’s virtually identical to Embiid, who has had to completely remodel his game since he was the third pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. What has been extraordinary in regards to “The Process” is when you examine his statistics per 36 minutes.
His averages for that category equate to 28.7 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. That’s significantly more points and blocks than the likes of Porzingis and Karl Anthony-Towns. His box plus/minus of 3.6 is also much more favorable than that of Porzingis at 0.0.
To summarize, the numbers don’t lie as to how special of a player the 7-0, 250-pound Embiid can be. However, when you’ve only played in 31 games in what could be almost three seasons, it’s difficult for fans and your organization to keep trusting the process. It should be fun to watch this guy and Ben Simmons on the together hopefully next season. Can Embiid ever last a full season/season(s) though? That is the ultimate question for upper management to decide, probably sooner than later.
They just dealt Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks in what was a questionable trade, which makes the Embiid experiment even more crucial. We all have our fingers crossed that Embiid can stay healthy. That would be great for the Sixers, and the future of the NBA as a whole.
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