After missing the last seven games due to injury management, Joel Embiid made a successful return last night for the Philadelphia, leading the team to a momentum-building win on the road over the explosive Chicago Bulls.
It was Embiid’s first appearance since the 76ers lost to the Grizzlies almost three weeks ago. Embiid finished the night with 31 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and a couple of blocks, helping the 76ers nab their second win in a row, and their fourth dub in five games — easily their best stretch in what has been a very challenging and disappointing campaign.
Philly is now just 1.5 games away from 10th place in the East, the last play-in tournament spot. While the club still has a significant deficit to overcome in their win-loss card, there has been real improvement from the team in the last couple of weeks, and coupled with a cleaner bill of health, they should have an inside track to eventually go above .500.
When asked about his thoughts on his string of long layoffs, Embiid did not shy away from expressing his disappointment with the fact that he has missed so many games already despite technically not incurring new injuries.
Depressing. Just trying to figure it out. There’s no injury. Just between the swelling … we’ve got to get it figured out. That’s it. I’ve been saying it for the last few months. It’s been extremely depressing. It’s something that hasn’t been figured out, and it’s been extremely annoying, because I would love to play every single game.
Sounds completely different from every narrative spun around the superstar, huh?
The number of people and camps responsible for twisting the truth about Embiid’s situation has ballooned this year, and the fact that the 76ers started the season off terribly has given them a popular launching point for their poor and unguided takes to go off.
From major media men and league figures to the cursory fan, Embiid has gotten the perception of someone who only misses games leisurely when in reality, the 76ers are handcuffed into slow cooking his ramp up to prolong his career — one that has already been an abberration given the way he started it off during his early years.
So, no. Unlike what the naysayers are putting out as gospel, the Philadelphia 76ers are not a mindless machine operating under an edict to piss everyone off. This is simply the way things work, especially when a high-maintenance star like Joel Embiid is the one at the topmost pedestal.