PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have had chances to go deep into the playoffs during the Joel Embiid era, but haven’t been able to get over the hump. Something always seems to get in the way of their path to a title.
In 2022, the main culprits were injuries and a lack of mental toughness, but the Sixers believe they have addressed the second part. This is all about staying healthy at this point.
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That means the focus is on the injuries and being sure they are at their best for when the playoffs come around in April.
“Stay healthy,” Embiid said after a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I think that’s the key. Keep learning how to play with each other. Obviously, we got a couple new guys that we got to get up to speed, but as the guys that have been here, we know what we got to do.”
Embiid has dealt with his fair share of injury issues in the playoffs. In 2022, it was a facial fracture he suffered in the first round. In 2021, he dealt with a knee injury. In 2019, he had an upper respiratory infection. In 2018, another facial injury limited him. He has to stay away from the injury bug for the Sixers to win.
Then, there is James Harden who, along with Embiid, was dealing with injuries in the 2022 playoffs. For The Beard, a hamstring issue held him back. He is using the All-Star break to get himself ready for the stretch run after not being selected for the game.
“Continue to get better,” said Harden. “Continue to lift and work on my game and getting even more in better shape and just doing the things necessary. It’s gonna be good. I mean, at this point, everybody is a little banged up, so it’ll be good for my body.”
Considering everything the Sixers want to do hinges on the health of Embiid and Harden, coach Doc Rivers wants his guys to get their rest heading into the break.
“Get your rest,” said Rivers. “No message. We know what we wanna do. They don’t need a message. They need to — some of them need to ramp down. Some of them probably need to keep working, but just get your rest, be healthy, be safe, don’t call me was my message.”
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