CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers have had their struggles in the 2023-24 season whenever Joel Embiid sits out. The big fella has been out while recovering from a meniscus procedure he underwent on Feb. 6 and the Sixers are looking to find ways to win without him.
Philadelphia is 7-17 on the season when Embiid sits compared to 26-8 with him. Their recent slide has them sitting as the No. 5 seed in the East, but only half a game ahead of the No. 8 seed Miami Heat. The Sixers are tied with the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers for No. 5.
With that being said, the expectation is that Embiid will return sometime at the end of March. The reigning league MVP believes that the Sixers can still win as long as he’s on the floor. He revealed he wasn’t at his best before he went down with the injury.
“I just said that I still got a long way to go,” Embiid stated. “I wasn’t at my best. I still believe as a basketball player, I can do way better than the level I was playing at. I have a lot of confidence in myself and I also feel like I can bring a lot of things to the team as far as my impact on both ends of the floor so I always believe.”
When he does return, Embiid will rejoin fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey as well as a solid cast of role players in Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nic Batum, and others.
The Sixers just have to stay afloat until then. When considering their recent slide, it’s fair to wonder whether Philadelphia will be in a good position when it’s time to welcome Embiid back to the lineup.
“It doesn’t matter who’s on the roster,” he finished. “It doesn’t matter who’s coaching. I still believe that I have a chance to win no matter what the situation. We were playing at a high level. Especially, when we had everybody healthy. Not just me so I believe that the way Tyrese has been playing and the couple guys that we added and then obviously everybody else needs to follow, I still think we got a pretty good chance.”
The Sixers have a tough March schedule. They will face teams such as the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks twice, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, and the Cleveland Cavaliers all on the road. This month will be a big challenge for them to get through until Embiid can return.
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