Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid watched from the sidelines as his teammates tried to make a fourth quarter comeback against the Brooklyn Nets.
He must have felt helpless.
When he was in the game, he was unable to establish any rhythm offensively, often settling for contested jumpers. Nic Claxton, who has become something akin to his archnemesis, repeatedly beat him to the rim at the other end. The box score looked even worse, as Embiid finished the evening with 14 points on 4-13 shooting from the field (0-6 from 3).
Why Aren’t The 76ers Shutting Down Joel Embiid?
As Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters after their loss to Brooklyn, Embiid isn’t “the guy we’re used to seeing play at a super high level” (h/t Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports).
Nick Nurse, on Joel Embiid: “He’s giving us what he can. He’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not, certainly, the guy that we’re used to seeing play at a super high level. But I commend him for giving us what he can.” pic.twitter.com/RXawIL4Y9I
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 23, 2025
To piggyback off of Nurse’s comments, the 2023 NBA MVP’s competitiveness has been commendable. Still, he’s been battling through chronic discomfort since coming back from his meniscus surgery last April. This has started to look like a situation in which the team needs to protect a player from themselves.
Asked Embiid tonight about the trust in his knee and how limited he is compared to what he was able to do in the past.
As part of his response, he said, “It sucks, but I believe I probably need, you know, to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level.”
Full answer: pic.twitter.com/nqaOjGdF5H
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 21, 2025
To that point, Philadelphia sounds like they’re delaying the inevitable. At worst, they’re probably exacerbating a known issue. The recent swelling in his left knee wasn’t explicitly linked to the meniscus injury that was ailing him last season but it’s generally assumed to be the case. Even if was unrelated though, Embiid only has one knee.
So much wear and tear in shut a short-time span isn’t ideal.
Trust The Process?
What makes this situation even stranger?
The 76ers are the same franchise that had no problem putting Embiid on ice the first two seasons of his career when it was revealed that he had a broken foot. Of course, it was Bryan Colangelo and not Daryl Morey in charge of the front office those days. Nevertheless, Embiid is still the crown jewel of the franchise.
Why not “Trust The Process” instead of having such a short-sighted approach? Why not give him time to polish himself rather than acting as if the team will never have another shot at a title? To put it more succinctly, why risk lowering their chance of winning a championship next season by having him play hurt this season?
Perhaps all of those questions are already on Morey’s mind. Heck, they might even be on Embiid’s. Nonetheless, time is of the essence.
© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
