After signing Paul George last summer, the Philadelphia 76ers had expectations of contending for a championship this season. Instead, after their sixth straight loss on Thursday night — a 124-104 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics — the Sixers find themselves with a 20-35 record, good for the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, they wouldn’t even make the Play-In.
Part of the team’s struggles stem from the lack of availability from former MVP Joel Embiid, who has played just 18 of the 55 games this season. Embiid had meniscus surgery on his left knee last February and returned to the court in April, but he missed the first nine games of this season due to management of the same knee.
Anyone who has watched Embiid play can immediately tell he isn’t the same player who was on pace to have one of the greatest offensive seasons of all-time last year before his injury. His scoring average has dropped more than 10 points, from 34.7 a season ago to 24.3 in 2024-25.
After Thursday night’s loss, Embiid admitted that he simply does not feel the same physically, and once again suggested that he may need a procedure at some point to get back to his old self.
“I don’t know, I’m sure you can figure it out,” Embiid said. “The way I was playing a year ago, is not the way I’m playing right now. It sucks, but I believe I probably need, you know, to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level. But it’s hard to have the trust when you’re not yourself.
“And yeah, I’m not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have a lot of impact on the game. Just me being out there I think helps a lot. You know, just my presence, ability to attract double-teams, getting guys more shots. But my dominant self, I’ll get there. It’s just tough because you know you can do so much more, but when it’s just — it’s no excuses, it’s just the way it is. Just got to keep finding ways to figure it out and get better.”
This sound byte is so incredibly sad. Embiid is essentially describing himself as a decoy, since his ailments won’t allow him to perform at the level to which he’s accustomed. It poses a difficult question for both Embiid and the 76ers: Should he finish the season at an admittedly diminished level, or should he shut things down and opt for surgery now with hopes that he’ll be 100% to begin 2025-26?
76ers’ Joel Embiid clarifies knee surgery comments: ‘If it gets worse, then you’ve got to do something’
James Herbert
Realists would look at Philadelphia’s position in the Eastern Conference and argue the latter. Even if the 76ers can get into and survive the Play-In, they’re looking at a first-round matchup with either the Celtics or the 45-10 Cleveland Cavaliers. With a limited Embiid, and George “taking some sorts of medicines to play through pain,” it may be wise to simply cash it in and start fresh next season.
But then again, if Embiid is able to get somewhere at least close to 100% during the final stretch of the season and potentially into the playoffs, he poses one of the most unique matchup problems in the entire NBA. It would be hard to completely count the 76ers out, but given Embiid’s comments it seems like that may simply be a fantasy at this point.
