Nor the Sixers’ season has started and it is already faltering. The project that was going to unite newcomer Paul George with hopeful Tyrese Maxey and star Joel Embiid It starts to have cracks in a familiar place: the center’s physical condition. The franchise has announced that he will miss the entire preseason due to a left knee injury.. At the earliest, he will be seen in action in the season opener on October 23 against the Bucks.
Added to this are a few words of Embiid, 30 years old and with numerous history of physical problemsin which he refers to his presence in the second game on consecutive nights: “If I had to guess, I will probably never play them again for the rest of my career”. It seems to be an idea that supports general manager Daryl Moreywho will prioritize the health of his star and also that of Paul George, who could be affected by this measure: “We are going to act intelligently.”
Paul George tries to overcome Mike Conley’s defense.
Supposedly, Embiid came into this preseason in one of the best moments of his career on a physical level. I had lost about 12 kilos. “Not playing those games is the right thing to do and what “It will give me support for the rest of my career.”assures the center, that without playing the second night of the ‘back-to-back’ he would be close to the minimum number of matches established by the NBA to qualify for individual awards.
Last season, Embiid was only able to play 39 regular league games. In a duel against the Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga fell on his left knee and in early February he had to undergo surgery to repair the meniscus. The regular phase ended with 34.7 points on averagethe best record of the competition, but the award for best scorer of the course went to Luka Doncicsince the Cameroonian had not reached the necessary matches to appear in the statistics. He also could not defend the MVP award obtained in 2023.
High expectations after a very active summer
The Sixers came into the season with high expectations after being very active in the market over the summer. In addition to the signing of the coveted Paul George, they extended the contracts of Embiid (three more years and 193 million dollars) and Tyrese Maxey (five years and 204 million)they retained Kelly Oubre Jr. y Kyle Lowry and they signed Caleb Martin , Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond and the ex-Madridista Guerschon Yabusele to complete the rotation.
Embiid’s left knee is a matter of status in the franchise. For yet another year, the center is once again a capital piece in the project. One more year, injuries bother him again. At 30 years old, the opportunities to fight for the ring begin to run out. Few teams are going to have as much pressure this season as the Sixers.
