It has been a rough season for Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Between injuries and ineffectiveness on the floor, the 76ers have continued to wallow outside the Play-in tournament picture in the Eastern Conference standings.
Philadelphia has lost eight of its last 10 games and dropped to 20-35 after a 124-104 home loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Joel Embiid gets real about how he feels after Philadelphia 76ers loss
Embiid, who returned to action after missing the Sixers’ final game before the All-Star break, scored just 15 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field while going minus-20 overall. Making the night worse for Sixers fans was Embiid’s admission following the Celtics game about how fe feels physically.
“The way I was playing a year ago, it’s not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid said after the loss to the Celtics (h/t Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports). “It sucks. But I believe … I probably need to fix the problem and then I’ll be back at that level, but it’s hard to have trust when you’re not yourself.”
Fans have all sorts of reactions to Embiid’s statement, with many expressing concern and firing negative reactions.
“This is freaking depressing,” shared a fan.
From another commenter: “Why is he playing at all? They’re 15 games below .500? Worst run franchise on the planet”
“Get the surgery and come back next season. This seasons a wash,” a social media user said.
“Surgery and retire the Sixers can move forward happily,” one said.
A different comment read: “Need to find what incentives he has to keep playing. Or if doesn’t what happens to his contract and potential future money he could lose by not playing.”
The Sixers can still make a run for at least a spot in the Play-in, but there’s also a reason for them to just shut down the former NBA Most Valuable Player for the rest of the season and help him become as healthy as possible for the 2025-26 campaign.
Embiid, who will turn 31 this coming March, is averaging 24.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in the 2024-25 NBA campaign.
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