Embiid’s health holding 76ers back from being true playoff contenders

Unfortunately, Joel Embiid’s health seems to be holding the Philadelphia 76ers back from being true contenders in the Eastern Conference.

After years of rebuilding, the Philadelphia 76ers finally seemed ready to live up to the hype by becoming serious contenders in the Eastern Conference, mainly due to all of the potential surrounding Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons being healthy enough to finally make an impact. Even after a rough start that consisted of three losses in four games, the Sixers eventually found a way to turn things around by winning seven of nine contests not long after, making it seem like they were in fact capable of being a top team in the conference.

With that being said, the month of December has been anything but kind to Philadelphia when looking at how the team has a 2-9 record heading into Thursday’s meeting with the Toronto Raptors. And while there are numerous reasons for blame ranging from their inability to close out games to key players dealing with injuries, the one factor that stands out the most has been the times when Embiid has been unable to play.

Yes, the argument can be made that Philadelphia had a feeling of what to expect from Embiid this season when looking at his history of injuries over the years, but that doesn’t make the games he is absent in the lineup easier to deal with. There have been numerous times throughout the 2017-18 season in which Embiid has looked like one of the league’s most dominant centers when looking at how much of a nightmare he is for opponents. Just look at last week’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in which Embiid was two assists away from a triple-double after finishing with 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes of action, as this shows how much of a difference it is for the Sixers to have him in the lineup.

But that’s exactly been the issue as of late when it comes to Embiid, as the former Kansas standout was forced to miss another game on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings, a game in which Philadelphia ended up losing 101-95, despite hanging on to a 16-point lead at one time. What makes this whole situation with Embiid even more frustrating is he’s missed four of the last six games (all losses) for the Sixers, and could be out until Christmas Day when the team faces the New York Knicks.

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Sitting at two games below .500 while looking at the Eastern Conference playoff picture from the outside, Philadelphia fans have every reason in the world to be upset when it comes to where this team stands at the moment, even if there is still plenty of time to turn things back around. Clearly, whether the Sixers have what it takes to truly be playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference will most likely come down to the health status surrounding Embiid moving forward, and seeing the team’s inability to win games in the month of December when he’s not in the lineup is the perfect example as to why.