The two big concerns every season involving Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid are his ability to attack double teams and his conditioning level. The question always comes up “will Embiid be in shape for when the games matter the most in April and May?”
To begin the 2020-21 season, Embiid looks as though is in the best shape of his career, and he is averaging 32 minutes a night. All of the measures he took in the offseason such as hiring massage therapists as well as a chef and a nutritionist to make sure he stays in great shape seem to be paying off. The challenge will be keeping it going in the long run.
“I feel great,” said Embiid. “I’m playing a lot of minutes. Everything I’ve been doing, I guess it’s working, and I’m glad to have the support that’s put in place, with everything mentioned. Everything’s going great so just got to keep on doing it.”
On top of that, the Sixers have legitimate depth behind Embiid with Dwight Howard. Howard had 9 points and 13 rebounds off the bench in Monday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets and Embiid did not even play 25 minutes. That is a big help in making sure the big fella will be ready to go for the playoffs and able to play in back-to-backs.
“It’s gonna be great,” Embiid added. “Especially when it comes to back-to-backs. The last time I didn’t play, we had a bad one; we should be 7-0, but we had a bad one. Nights like tonight (Monday), it just gives me the energy and not having to take on a lot of physical toll and all that stuff is great.”
Combining his work off the floor with the depth the Sixers possess, Embiid can now play in more games and continue to move forward as a player.
“It puts me in a position to play and being able to play all these back-to-backs and just feeling good,” he added. “With everything I’ve been doing off the court, off the grid, I can’t wait to keep on doing it.”
Things are moving in the right direction for Philadelphia, and it will need to continue to come together and make all of this work. A 6-1 start is great, but there are still 65 games left, and the Sixers will have to be sure they are playing at their best when the postseason comes around.
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