Getty Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and coach Brett Brown
Having still never been healthy for a full playoff series in his career, Joel Embiid has battled a multitude of injuries and conditioning issues in his short career. Often injured and when healthy, struggling to retain his effectiveness deep into games, the superstar big man still has a lot of room to grow.
In a segment on Pardon the Interruption, Charles Barkley was reminded of how he previously suggested Embiid start swimming to help get into better shape. After finding out Embiids response – he’s scared of water – and making a few jokes, Chuck got serious for a moment and talked about how important Embiid’s conditioning was to the Sixers success.
Watch Charles Barkley says Joel Embiid Needs to Get Into Better Shape
Sixers’ Joel Embiid Injury Update
Still battling a lingering knee injury, Joel Embiid was cleared for action and is starting in the Sixers showdown with the Brooklyn Nets. As a formidable force down low, the Nets don’t have much of an answer for Embiid and his presence in the lineup causes a major mismatch. Despite strong play from the rest of the Sixers when he was out, the fact remains that Embiid’s presence and availability makes Philadelphia a much more dangerous basketball team.
Battling tendinitis in his knee, Embiid’s timeframe to be fully healthy is unknown. Notoriously fickle in recovery times, each case of tendinitis is slightly different and there is truly no telling when Embiid will be fully healthy again. However, it can be safely assumed that by playing through it, he isn’t doing his recovery timeline any favors.
Averaging career bests of 27.5 points per game and 13.6 rebounds in 2018-2019, there is no doubting the sheer dominance of the Cameroonian big man. While he may battle through injuries and have conditioning issues late in games, he is still able to post incredibly dominant stat lines night in, night out. A walking 20 and 10, the Sixers desperately need his full presence down low against some of the better teams moving forward.
While a banged up Embiid might be able to dominate against the Nets, he won’t be afforded the same luxury against the Celtics, Bucks, or Raptors moving forward. A hobbled Embiid is going to be picked on and taken advantage of by the more elite teams in the East and might prove to be a liability in these series. If one thing can be safely assumed, it is that the entirety of the Sixers title hopes rests on the health of their 25-year-old big man’s knee.