NBA Rumors: Joel Embiid Upset With Philadelphia 76ers Over Minutes Restriction
Joel Embiid is not a happy camper, and trouble could potentially be brewing for him and the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers have a minutes restriction in place for the third-year center, and he is not pleased, to say the least. If nothing gets resolved between the 76ers and Joel Embiid, the hurt feelings could have a carryover effect that could disrupt team chemistry.
Because of his injury history, the 76ers have Joel Embiid playing about 25 minutes a game. As a part of his minutes restriction (courtesy of Yahoo Sports), he is not playing in games on consecutive nights. Judging from his actions in the 76ers’ most recent game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Embiid has had it with the sporadic playing time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdhzIHY-VGY
Wednesday night’s game against the Grizzlies went into a second overtime. Sixers head coach Brett Brown took Embiid out of the game with plenty of time left in the second extra period. Upon walking to the bench, Joel Embiid erupted (courtesy of SB Nation). He took his frustrations of being taken out of the game on a chair. Embiid had played a season-high 27 minutes at the time.
Win Streak!!!!! #TrustTheProcess pic.twitter.com/yJDanbNifb
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) November 22, 2016
Despite going off on the chair, Joel Embiid told reporters that he still trusts the process (courtesy of CSN Philadelphia) after the 104-99 loss.
Even coach Brett Brown admitted that he was tempted to play the Sixers’ big man for more minutes.
There it is, on your bench, 10 feet from me. It’s very tempting. But you just can’t do it. It’s a bigger world that we’re living in. It’s a far greater vision, a much longer vision that we see. Really, games like tonight, as much as it stings and as much as he was close by and was playing at the level that we saw, it’s just not wise to do it. That’s the discipline that we have to have.”
Trusting in the process has been the motto Embiid has used while he was preparing to enter the 76ers lineup after two years of injuries. The 76ers coaching staff must also follow that philosophy, and everyone in the 76ers organization must keep their cool — including Embiid. It is especially important for everyone to remain calm for the next month. The 76ers will revisit the minutes restriction around Christmas. As long as there are no setbacks, Embiid could be fully cleared.
The Sixers have won four games this season with him playing around the 25-minute mark, which includes sitting out the second half of a back to back. The 76ers could definitely use him. When he does play, Embiid clearly looks like the Sixers best player most of the time.
Embiid has proven in a short time that he can become the 76ers first NBA all-star since point guard Jrue Holiday made the team in 2013.
#Philadelphia76ers #76ers #MadeInPhila Joel Embiid nominated for NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week https://t.co/M3Ul0srosi
— 76ers Fans (@76ersViews) November 15, 2016
It is obvious that the Sixers could play Joel Embiid for a few more minutes. Another option the 76ers could employ is to backload his minutes for the second half. The ideal strategy would be for the 76ers to play Joel Embiid for five minutes each of the first three quarters. That would allow the 76ers 10 minutes to use him in the final quarter and overtime.
The problem with this is that the 76ers could already be behind by a large margin. It would make keeping Embiid’s minutes down less meaningful. Having Embiid on the current minutes restriction now is a risk for the 76ers because he has not suffered a setback.
An angry center could create animosity in the 76ers locker room.
As Joel Embiid continues to get better and proves that the injuries are a thing of the past, doubt will build amongst the 76ers. From an outsider’s perspective, it could be viewed as the 76ers doing what they can to tank the season. Suspicions about the 76ers losing on purpose have been the conversation for the past three seasons. It is conceivable that the Philadelphia 76ers could be doing it again. If so, an angry Joel Embiid will only get worse, and the 76ers’ locker room will be lost.
Although the Philadelphia 76ers will continue Joel Embiid’s minutes restriction, look for them to alter their strategy a bit. That could include a slight bump in his playing time to about 27 minutes a game.
[Featured Image by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images]
