Joel Embiid has done everything to help the team win. It's hard to believe he can push them further with all his physical ailments
It’s safe to say the Philadelphia 76ers are undoubtedly on a time clock.
They only have a two-year window to win a championship. Chris Broussard on First Things First believes that it’s going to be hard for the team to follow through on winning an NBA title.
Broussard believes the main culprit that’ll keep them from being successful is Joel Embiid. Once again it falls on the injury history. It makes sense for it to be a component, but it shouldn’t be the number one reason that the team doesn’t get the job done. What about Father Time catching up to LeBron James? Broussard went on to mention that the rest of the team’s youth will be a jolt of energy, but it all falls on Embiid.
It’s a fair criticism because Embiid’s numbers have dipped over the last few years. But that’s the reason for the new additions. Trading for star forward Jaylen Brown and signing four-time MVP LeBron James were meant to bring a sense of peace to Embiid. It can’t all fall on one player.
It’s hard to see how Embiid would be the deciding factor and James not shoulder some of that blame. Despite his age, James is in peak shape and has also had his fair share of injuries too. If James misses a number of games, does it still fall on Embiid? When there are games where stars fall short, it becomes a team issue.
Broussard did make a good point that for the team to be successful, it can’t just be everybody is option 1-4. There has to be a system in place that makes it so the ball finds an open man and not one specific player. There may be nights where one player has the hot hand but the 76ers can’t fall into the trap of delegating to that player. There is one point that Broussard failed to mention.
When that second unit comes in, they have to control the game. Of course everyone is going to put the bulk of the blame on the starters, but if the starting unit combines for 70 points but the bench only contributes 20, that’s a problem. It’s about the collective for a team like this. If the bench struggles, that means more minutes for the starters, and if that happens, you’ll start to see the injuries mount.
If this team has any hope for success, it’s going to have to be reliant on a game plan. Embiid is a key component, but he will not be the reason the team falters.
