The 2024-25 NBA season hasn’t been kind to the Philadelphia 76ers. The team had a sluggish start, mainly because it missed its stars, Joel Embiid and Paul George. However, it has recently improved its record and is now 13-18 in the Eastern Conference, putting it in the 11th spot.
With the recent play of the Sixers, their goal of making it to the playoffs could come to fruition. However, the main concern for the team will be how their stars stay healthy. More specifically, Philly’s postseason goal relies on the availability of Embiid.
The Sixers are set to play the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. However, he’s listed as questionable due to a left foot sprain and could miss another game this season. This led the hosts at “Run It Back” to ask if the Sixers could be contenders in the Eastern Conference without a healthy Embiid.
According to three-time Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams, he doesn’t believe in Philly without their All-Star big man.
“Absolutely not,” Williams said. “And they gotta make a decision. They gotta figure out whether we’re still trying to get into this playoff run or whether we’re packing it in for next season and try to give ourselves a chance to get a high draft pick and maybe get one of these young guys for the next season.”
The 76ers need Joel Embiid to lead their big three if they want to compete this year 🫣 pic.twitter.com/KHSDFR1tHc
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 2, 2025
Additionally, former NBA player Chandler Parsons shares the same sentiment as Williams.
“The moral of the story is, no,” Parsons said. “They are not a contending team. They’re not even a good team without Joel Embiid. He is that good. He is that important… this is a team that’s solely contingent on this big three being healthy and playing at a high level, and they haven’t.”
How has Embiid played for the Philadelphia 76ers this season?
Embiid had a sluggish start for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. He didn’t play his first game of the campaign until after nine games in. He missed the first six games because of his left knee injury management and got into an altercation with a reporter. The league then imposed a three-game suspension on him.
In his first game, he had 13 points, three rebounds and five assists on 18.2% shooting from the field. Following his season debut, he missed another game before returning to the lineup where he played three straight games.
After that, he missed seven straight games due to injury. Now, he’s tried his best to remain healthy and has appeared in 11 games, averaging 23.7 points and 7.0 rebounds.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
