Philadelphia 76ers fans finally seem poised to ‘Trust the Process’ this season, and it could yield results if everyone involved can stay healthy and remember how to shoot free throws. A big part of that process, of course, is Joel Embiid.
The Sixers’ young star is finally healthy and playing in preseason games and appears ready to start the season on the active roster. He’s also fueling Twitter feuds in his spare time. But how much we see of Embiid early in the NBA season is still cause for speculation. Is Embiid ready for a full role on an NBA roster?
Sixers fans, of course, want to see Embiid back at full strength, and his preseason showing has been encouraging, but this is a player who’s seen action in just 31 NBA regular season games and needs time. His coach agrees with that sentiment and told reporters on Monday that Embiid’s minutes may be lower than most expected coming into the season.
Joel Embiid's minutes have been a hot topic this afternoon. Here's Brett Brown's full response on his playing time. pic.twitter.com/x3xTV76JmL
— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) October 16, 2017
“I don’t really know if there’s a solid number,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said on Monday. “I can tell if you were to choose a number, it’s somewhere in the teens.”
That’s not great news for Sixers fans, but Brown did say there will be less of a hard cap on things than there had been in the past. If the flow of the game dictates that Embiid is comfortable, he’s going to play a bit more.
“I think one of the things that we’re doing this year unlike previous years is there’s a little bit of looseness in relation to it,” he continued. “We’re going to learn more about that. There will be some minutes restrictions, but it’s also a judgment of how the game is being played, not just looking at a rote, rigid number.”
When Embiid is actually on the court, he’s shined. He averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He also only averaged 25.4 minutes per game, with a hard cap that was the cause of some visible frustration at times. But Embiid’s coaches clearly feel that this is for the best, and it looks like an even harsher minutes cap will be in place to start the season.
If Embiid takes off and — most importantly — remains healthy this year, then minutes and what happens in October won’t matter much. But getting Embiid and the Sixers into the postseason will take cautious optimism and continued patience on the part of Sixers fans.
At this point, what’s a few more weeks?
