Philadelphia 76ers are confident in Joel Embiid’s return as their clock is ticking – Woj | NBA Today

Philadelphia 76ers are confident in Joel Embiid’s return as their clock is ticking – Woj | NBA Today

Joel embiid could be back as soon as tomorrow we’ll know more about his status for the Thunder later today but this is a player Malika who when he left this team in late January was on course to be the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to average 35 points 10

Rebounds five assists in an NBA season bur you have been adamant about the Sixers not bringing Joel EMB back we have all listened to you say that this season what’s your reaction now that they have announced that he could return rather that W has reported that he could

Return as soon as this week well my feelings are the same but kudos to Joel and B cuz I know this decision pretty much fell in in his hands and was on him but let me say this when it comes down to looking at this situation with the Philadelphia 76ers they’re in the

Playin tournament right now now if Joel embiid is willing to jump off the you know jump into that fire he’s either going to come out looking like a hero or we know the other part of it my thing is is this right if he looks anywhere close

To the Jo L andb that we saw before the injury how are we going to judge him in the postseason to be fair I feel like if he looks close to the 35 uh points per game Joel andb then all excuses there are none of them when it comes down from him

Leading this team in the postseason and making a serious run at least getting to the Conference Finals I’m not interested in all that quite yet I I want to see him play and I want to see how he looks because look I’m going to defer to Joel embiid from what I’ve

Heard about his people in the Sixers this is a a very careful thought out decision there there’s no rushing here he’s only coming back because they are confident he can stay healthy and the knee will hold up as far as the postseason all that look they might be

Locked into eth it’s going to be hard for them to get out of eth they do have an easy schedule but so do the heat so do the Pacers they don’t have the tiebreakers and if they’re eighth it’s just a tough road you’re look at a potential either you win the playin

First game and you get Milwaukee in the first round that’s a war you lose the first play in and you win the second one you get Boston in the first round are we ready for Boston Philly in the first round of the playoffs with Joel andb but

I’ll tell you this this is the wildest of wild cards in the NBA if this dude is 90% of the guy that was running rough shod over the league right they have a CH a shot to get beat anybody in a playoff series so they are eighth right

Now but look at this schedule here it’s very easy the Heat schedule is also very easy the Pacer schedule is also very easy they don’t have the tie break against either team they like two games with six or seven to go is a lot and

Like I don’t know if you can just assume that he comes in and plays 35 minutes a game there all of a sudden the elite team that they were before yeah I don’t see him playing 35 minutes either and quite honestly I think it is a little

Too late um I think they were expecting him to come back sooner two weeks left in the season it’s not enough to make up uh maybe he might come back to himself but the team around him the group around him is not used to playing with 30 games without him those

Guys have to adjust the coaching has to adjust their whole style of play their best bet was for him to come back earlier try to match up with Cleveland in the first round and then hopefully build Rhythm but if they have to match up with Milwaukee or Boston it’s an

Early Kendrick looks befuddled why but I I am befuddled because Zach said the postseason he’s not worried about none of that stuff why not what’s the point of bringing them back with they only have seven games left the point of bringing them back is that in the organization they must have the mindset

That they actually could do something in the postseason and I can understand that with how vulnerable the Eastern Conference is right now Zack not you Danny I’m talking to Zack because he said he wasn’t worried abouty yeah the Easter the Easter on Monday I’m trying to I’m trying to

Understand why it’s seven games left in the regular season we should be concerned about that and worried about that I meant I’m not worried about the noise I’m not worried about how are we going to jump him what’s his legacy going to be the excuses I’m not worried

About any of that I am interested and I guess worried whatever term you want to use about how good this team can be because they were a dominant starting five when they had him when they had the Anthony Melton we don’t know what his status is but if they have this dude

Averaging 35 a game a point a minute or 80% or 90% of that they’re a dangerous team for I’m just not interested I’m not going into the dialogue of it yet because let me see him play Let’s fingers cross he’s healthy and all of that but let’s say somehow go ahead

Kendrick no go I mean that we all want to see what he looks like when he tomorrow night to see how we’re going to judge him that’s why I said in all fairness we have to see it because if he looks like the joeel andb we saw before

Injury then he has no excuses going into the postseason W how confident are the 76ers they’re getting that full strength Joel and be back listen they have really liked what they have seen anybody who’s watched Joel embiid work out lately uh he looks ready to play to them but he’s been out

A long time he is coming off of another knee procedure uh it is not easy to just walk back into an NBA season right before the playoffs and be back at an MVP form which he was and remember the other thing he left a team that didn’t include buddy heeld didn’t include Kyle

Lowry he’ll get to play for those with those guards for the first time in this window before as Zach said probably the playin tournament uh but there is confidence that Joel embiid um can get back and play at a high level but as we have seen

With this Philly group they need Joel MV Joel mbid at an MVP level to really be able to make a run at Boston make a run at Philadelphia that’s going to be really difficult in this short window but the clock is ticking in Philadelphia it’s ticking for this organization

Taking in Joel embiid’s career there was an opportunity to be healthy and come back and play and they’ve got to make a run at it so let’s take a look at the standings to see who they could be matching up with because if it is the Celtics who have clinched that top spot

In the East it’s going to be very very difficult for them to topple a team that’s been at the top of the NBA all year long then the Bucks they sit at the two seed just a a two and a half games ahead of the Cavaliers you see the

Sixers they’re currently in eighth they have seven games to go here I think Danny if somehow they were to match up with the Cavaliers you would probably pick the 76ers in that series but it’s going to be an uphill battle for them to get to that matchup yeah only because

Cleveland lacks The Experience that’s the only reason why and you have Joel embiid I don’t think they have anybody to guard him um in that and also Cleveland has their own injury issues with Donovan Mitchell in and out of lineup Evan m in out of lineup but Philly’s definitely tough enough can

Score enough and we have everybody healthy but like w said it’s going to be interesting to see how Kyle Lowry uh the guys that weren’t there before buddy heel to both play with Joel um so yeah this is going to be a matchup that they

Would like to get so if they can catch Indiana if not it’s going to be a tough said early playoffs forth them but the only way they can build Rhythm and get Joel back in good shape and be able to get to the Eastern Conference Finals if

They get an easier match up in the first round usually we ask for a percentage chance but a Zach centage chance that they could give the Celtics a run for their money in the first round Zach sented I was trying to come up with something better than that I need

Another couple well first the other difference between seven and six is not just Milwaukee Cleveland it’s a week off before you get to play in the playoffs versus the play in tournament uh what does give to give Boston a run in the first round what does that mean

Are they the biggest threat to the Celtics no milwauke biggest threat to the Celtics my per percentage chance if you’re talking like tough six game series or seven game series and they lose or win 27.8% chance 27.8 I appreciate the zision there the Precision in all of that uh perk last word on

This they’ll losing five if they matched up with the Boston Celtics it’ll be Celtics and [Applause] [Applause] w

Adrian Wojnarowski joins Kendrick Perkins, Austin Rivers and Zach Lowe on NBA Today to discuss Joel Embiid’s imminent return from a knee injury to the Philadelphia 76ers’ lineup and the justification to activate the reigning MVP with just seven games remaining in the regular season.

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