(SP) – The Philadelphia 76ers confirmed suspicions today that the the franchise’s years-long run of intentional losing resulted in simply hoping that oft-injured big man Joel Embiid will magically get and stay healthy as he ages and racks up minutes on his body.
“Yeah, unfortunately, it turns out that we lost for five years and it’s just this,” said Sixers head coach Brett Brown. “Hoping a guy who has never been healthy stays healthy. Ideally, we would have had more than one franchise player by now. But, hey — you have to trust the process, right? The process says only one true superstar player on the roster and that he must rarely play. I’ll trust that’s for the best.”
The Sixers have fallen to 14-16 on the season, good for 10th place in the second-rate Eastern Conference, after dropping back-to-back games to the woeful Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings. The Sixers are 1-6 on the season when Embiid doesn’t play, as he has not for four of the past six games, and now he is out for at least two of the next two games with back issues.
“I feel a lot of pressure to get on the court,” said Embiid. “But at the same time, my body is often consumed by pain and stiffness, which I’m told is just part of the process.”
The Sixers do believe the team could possibly improve if 2017 No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz gets healthy and into the lineup.
“We waited for years to get the No. 1 overall pick and we got an injured guy that some people think might one day be an above-average NBA point guard,” said Brown. “Thanks, The Process!”
