NBA TODAY | “76ers are a big threat in the East” – Perk breaks down Joel Embiid’s return is imminent

NBA TODAY | “76ers are a big threat in the East” – Perk breaks down Joel Embiid’s return is imminent

College to the NBA a fun weekend of Hoops welcome to NBA Today presented by Levis I’m Malika Andrews and the countdown to the postseason it is on we’re only two weeks away from the end of the regular season there are so many questions right that still need to be

Answered but we may be getting an answer to one of the biggest questions in the Eastern Conference as we say hello and happy Monday to our senior NBA Insider Adrien wowski wo Joel embiid he last played in late January and since then the Hope has been he would come back for

The 76ers but we didn’t have a date or time line until now what more can you tell us Malika Joel embiid’s return to the Sixers lineup is imminent it could come as soon as Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder back in Philadelphia but the expectation is he will play this

Week the Sixers have games later in the week against Miami then a back toback on the weekend uh with Memphis and San Antonio I think it’s unlikely you’d see him in a backto back this soon coming back but he’s just been r cing up his conditioning and feeling like he was in

Shape that knee has been cleared and you know the expectation is uh that 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 wit Chamberlain to average 35 points 10 rebounds five assists in an NBA season anytime you’re in the same company as Will Chamberlain it is a good thing W thank you please do not go too far and be’s return it’s coming at a crucial time for the 76ers

Because Philadelphia they have four games this week two games right now they’re two games out of that sixth spot in the East so let’s welcome in the rest of our panel look who is here in Los Angeles our senior writer Zack low MBA champ Danny Green is here with us as

Well and beaming in from htown our resident big man NBA champ in his own right Kendrick Perkins and perk you have been adamant about the Sixers not bringing Joel andb 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 because 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 look like a hero or we know the other part of it my thing is is this right if he looks

Anywhere close to the Joe 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 Joe &b then all excuses there are none

Of them when it comes down from him leading this team in a 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 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 looking at a potential either you win the play in first game and you get Milwaukee in the first round that’s a war you lose the first play and then 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 shot 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 and like two games with six or

Seven to go is a lot and like I don’t know if you could just assume that he comes in and plays 35 minutes a game they’re 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 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 him 30 games without him those guys have to adjust the coaching has to adjust their all 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 well I I am beud 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

About the Easter the Easter Su 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 de and worried about de I meant I’m not worried about the noise I’m not worried about how are we going to judge 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 FR I’m just not interested I’m not going into the dialogue of it yet because let me see to him play Let’s fingers crossed 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 Joel andb we saw before Ur then he has no excuses going into the postseason cuz he came back this is part of jumping in the fire to that point let’s bring Adan W narowski back into the conversation who’s been standing by 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 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 play in 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 embiid 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 it’s ticking 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 clinch 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 joelan beid 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 Moi 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 KY Lowry uh the guys that weren’t there before buddy heel to play with Joel um so yeah this is going to be a match up that they would like to get so if they

Can catch Indiana if not it’s going to be a tough said early playoffs for 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 Zack sent it 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

Thewa Bigg threat to the Celtics my percentage chance if you’re talking like tough six game series or seven game series and they lose or win h 27.8% 27.8 I appreciate the zision there the Precision and all of that uh perk last word on this they’ll lose in five if they

Matched up with the Boston Celtics it’ll be Celtics in five way that Lin up yeah that’s about a 27.8% chance if you’re doing the coners they put Joel and beid in the pick and roll and they go test out his conditioner in his lateral movement and rightfully so well

The the 76ers are not the only ones that could have a bit of an uphill battle in the postseason the Los Angeles Lakers do as well and coming up on NBA today yesterday foreign speech foreign speech your tower has been destroyed First Blood an enemy has been defeated enemy double kill enemy triple

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NBA TODAY | “76ers are a big threat in the East” – Perk breaks down Joel Embiid’s return is imminent