Woj: Joel Embiid can only miss 7 more games to win post-season awards 😳 | NBA Countdown

Woj: Joel Embiid can only miss 7 more games to win post-season awards 😳 | NBA Countdown

Now Joel embiid his 34.6 points per game that leads the league but he will not play tonight again due to left knee inflammation he’s now missed six of Philly’s last eight games and tonight will make it 10 missed games overall for the season so w where do things stand

With embiid and when can we expect to see him back on the floor no good news for the Sixers Joel embiid’s expected to start practicing again this weekend and if that goes well be being able to play early next week and the the swelling has been down he has responded well to

Treatment I’m told but this is where it’s going to get interesting for Joel embiid the rest of this season after he misses tonight’s game he’s only going to be able to miss seven more games in this regular season out of the final 45 for Philly to be eligible for MVP for all

NBA and this is really the first test of that new NBA rule that has put games played as part of the criteria uh to win postseason Awards he’s a defending MVP yeah but here’s what I’m told and how Joel embiid is approaching this that he’s won an MVP he’s been all NBA he’s

Not won an NBA championship yet he’s not going to do anything the rest of the season in the managing of that left knee uh that is going to limit his ability to be healthy or as healthy as possible for the postseason so he’s not going to

Chase that 65 game uh number and that may cost him again the chance to repeat his MVP but Joel embiid I think his mindset is about winning a championship being as healthy as he can be for the postseason he has seen what’s happened when he’s not been 100% in the playoffs

How it’s cost Philly their window is now to win and I think Joel embiid’s focus is on uh whether he makes all NBA or not or gets that 65 games manage that knee and get to the postseason as healthy as he can be right and if that means sacrificing a couple of back-to-backs

Late in the season if that means a deep and successful playoff run you would have to imagine that that’s something that’s worth it but in the meantime Joel embiid out of the lineup the Sixers they are 2 and seven they average almost nine fewer points per game so should this

Impact Brian their philosophy as they look to the trade deadline because like w said they need Joel embiid healthy but they also want to be able to manage when he is not there yeah well there’s no replacing Joel embiid so when he’s not in the lineup there’s not much they can

Do but this team is constructed to add to their team that was really the James Harden trade hasn’t been settled yet they got assets in that trade and expiring contracts that they can move on this team is succeeding and playing well without having what really is the fruit

Of the potential James Harden trade so between now and the trade deadline I think they can add multiple players and they may add nobody because if they add nobody they’re going to have the most salary cap space they’ve maybe ever had in team history this summer but I don’t

Think that’s going to be a priority I think their priority is looking for deals where they can add a player or two and I think that’s something that’s going to be one of the big story lines in the league heading into the trade demo well they need to reach a

Settlement soon and act fast I mean because and know I’m not doing up game size the number three that’s the max amount of years right now that the Philadelphia 76ers have in they window to win a championship with Joel embid for as being the the the the number one

Option I mean with his injury history there’s no way he’s going to go past that like he’s not going to have a long Prime like a Kevin Durant or or Lebron James or even a Steph Curry his body is breaking down every single season and here we are right now so the

Philadelphia 76ers they got to act though this quick now I’m not saying jumping a gun and just saying go take a Zack LaVine or anything to that nature but it is a pascal cakam out there and they have to make a move because when you look at the Knicks they got better

Right we don’t know if Boston is done yet you know Brad Stevens he’s aggressive and also the Milwaukee Bucks I yes they had an impressive win last night but they’re looking and saying you know what we might need to add to our bench Philly has to act now if they want

To maximize Joel and B Window the one thing you know about darl Mory the Sixers president is he loves to Big Game hunt and he’s going to keep poking around on the best available players even some of the best unavailable Players He’ll keep poking between now and the trade deadline think more

Realistic for them another ball handling guard a backup big you know it doesn’t sound exciting but the as Brian said getting some pieces around this group and then this off season you know they’re going to be in position to be able to go big game hun but like you

Said perk the windows ever shrinking with a player like Joel embiid and Philly knows they have a talent Gap with Boston maybe even Milwaukee at the very top but uh this is a team that I think as Brian outlined they have the assets to be aggressive and darl M I don’t

Think anybody’s made more trades over the last seven eight years in the NBA than he has yeah and when you watch him play they’re a fun team to watch play Maxi playing fast and be the top of his game they have multiple different looks they can give you if you’re a guy who

Can possibly get traded or a free agent this summer Philly is a place you want to go so that’s definitely something that could play into it both at the trading deadline and in the Summer where do you see with this roster as currently constructed the Sixers shaking out perk

Uh to be honest I mean I see it as a second round exit that’s their Silling I mean because let’s be real they can’t they can’t compete in the seven game series with the Celtics and the Knicks the Knicks have gotten better I I keep you like I got to keep reminding people

How good they really are and just you know Joel embiid hasn’t been great in the postseason right now they got to add another but what WJ was saying about how he’s managing this season it’s going to be very interesting to see if that translates in a different way now that

We’ve seen him be at the MVP level to that postseason success as [Applause] Well [Applause]

Adrian Wojnarowski joins NBA Countdown to discuss Joel Embiid’s injury and what the implications of his missed games could be.

✔️Subscribe to ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/youtube
✔️ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔️Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔️ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV