Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid just can’t catch a break
Joel Embiid’s preseason with the Philadelphia 76ers is (probably) over.
When Joel Embiid exited the Philadelphia 76ers‘ debut, abbreviated 40-minute contest against the Memphis Grizzlies at the end of the second quarter and never returned to the court for the third, it felt oddly familiar.
Sure, Brett Brown didn’t ride his starters quite as hard as his ‘Grizzliarian’ counterpart, as Memphis’ starters were on the court up through the waning moments of an ultimately losing effort, but Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, and Josh Richardson all at least made their second-half presence known in a game important for one reason and one reason alone: Building chemistry.
*sigh* unfortunately, there was an all-to-familiar reason for Embiid absence.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kyle Neubeck, Embiid starting experiencing ‘discomfort in his right calf’ in the first half of Friday’s scrimmage and was ultimately pulled from the rotation for precautionary purposes. He did not return to the court, was held out of the Sixers’ second practice contest against the Oklahoma City Thunders for precautionary purposes, and is considered day-to-day moving forward.
In lamen’s terms? Embiid’s preseason is over.
Granted, that too isn’t saying much, as the Sixers only have one more preliminary contest, a Tuesday night contest against Boban Marjanovic’s Dallas Mavericks, before their regular season resumes on August 1st against the Indiana Pacers but isn’t that just how things break for our collective hometown Philadelphia 76ers? Coach Brown finally, finally implements a new offensive identity with Shake Milton at the one, and Ben Simmons kicked inside to the four, and that unit go what, eight minutes together on the court to implement this new vision?
Ah, that distinct feeling of Harris-Blazer-branded disappointment, I knew you’d eventually rear your ugly head, but so soon? Tricky.
Next. Has Boban Marjanovic replaced Tobias Harris?. dark
Ultimately, we don’t know what the Philadelphia 76ers had in the cards for Joel Embiid and the rest of the starting five for the final two games of the preseason. It’s entirely possible Embiid wouldn’t have played more than a dozen or so minutes per game by design, as the team’s main scrimmage objective has to be remaining healthy – especially since the team is a lock to make the playoffs regardless of their final eight-game record – but outside of giving Norvel Pelle a few more chances to shine as a change-of-pace rim running big man, yet another soft-tissue injury to ‘The Process’ is one aspect of the Philadelphia 76ers I sincerely hoped wouldn’t be back for the not-Summer League – and yet, here it is; death, taxes, and disappointment are the only sure things in life for Philly fans.