Joel Embiid has dominated the headlines, though the on-court product has been bad from the 7-footer.
The Philadelphia 76ers are off to an abysmal 2-8 start to the 2024-25 NBA season. They added Paul George alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, creating a team capable of competing for a title — especially with Embiid playing up to an MVP standard when healthy.
However, the duo of Embiid and George are older and they are both known for being injury prone. That has been a problem just 10 games into their tenure together, with both having missed time and set to miss their second game of a back-to-back.
While Embiid’s injuries are an issue, poor conditioning could lead to him being in bad form on the season as he struggled mightily in his season debut.
Bill Simmons and Kirk Goldsberry weigh in on Embiid’s shape, comparing him to an older version of Shaquille O’Neal
Two analysts to take a peek at Embiid’s lack of conditioning is The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Kirk Goldsberry. They even drew a comparison to Shaquille O’Neal in the latter half of his career — when long stints on the floor became too much.
“Joel Embiid came back and played the New York Knicks and played for about five minutes and looked like he was going to keel over,” Simmons said.
Goldsberry then went on to say that was the worst performance he’d ever seen from Embiid — comparing him to an older version of O’Neal, as mentioned. He then asked Simmons which era of O’Neal would be comparable to what Embiid provided on the floor.
“What he looked like tonight, he’s in the 2008 Phoenix range,” Simmons said.
“If I was a Sixers fan, I’d be losing my mind. I would just be like, ‘How did all of this happen in the Olympics? Why didn’t you tell us what happened with his legs before the season started?’”
The 76ers only have a one-game sample size of Embiid looking like only a shell of himself. O’Neal himself blasted Embiid’s performance.
With George being an aged star, the club simply needs an MVP-level of the big man.
Embiid walks back statement about back-to-backs
The 76ers and Embiid talked themselves into trouble when the superstar center revealed he wouldn’t be playing in a back-to-back again in his career. He recently walked back his initial statement, claiming he’s a “troll” and will convince the team to let him play on a more consistent basis.
“I know I said I will never play back-to-backs,” Embiid said. “But I’m a troll.”
Philadelphia will be careful with Embiid, but he should be playing as consistently as possible if he’s healthy enough to do so. The club will want him ready for the playoffs, but with two wins through ten games, they shouldn’t look that far forward at this point.
A comparison to a washed-out O’Neal at this point in his career is quite telling for Embiid, and he’ll have to soon turn things around if he wants to change the narrative around himself. His availability has always been an issue, but being in bad shape on the court shouldn’t be a problem at this point.
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