The injury curse refuses to leave the Philadelphia 76ers alone. The All-Star duo of Joel Embiid and Paul George has been sidelined before the start of the 2024-25 season. To compound the hurt of 76ers fans, ESPN analyst Tim Legler took a dig at their NBA championship chances due to their injury woes.
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On the All NBA Podcast, Legler was joined by his former ESPN colleague Marc Stein, and the duo previewed the potential title contenders for the upcoming season. Legler didn’t fancy the 76ers’ chances to take down the reigning champs Boston Celtics and win the Eastern Conference.
He jibed at their injury woes, highlighting how their two elite athletes have picked up serious injuries despite the team being around one week away from their Regular Season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. He said,
“Philly, I just flat out I don’t trust their health right now. Paul George already banged up in the preseason, Joel Embiid’s having some knee issues. We haven’t even got to opening night and they’re already dealing with issues with those two guys. They’ve got to prove something to me, they’re not gonna get benefit of the doubt out of me with their health.”
During the Monday night preseason affair against the Atlanta Hawks, George hyperexteneded his left knee during a defensive play. Fortunately, the MRI revealed that there was a bone bruise on the knee but there was no structural damage.
However, there is no timetable for his return and we will only learn if he will be available for the season opener a day or two before the game.
Meanwhile, Embiid was also ruled out for the whole preseason leg to manage his persistent left knee injury. Last season, he missed 43 games mostly due to a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.
Thus, the 76ers want him to be ready for the season opener, but like PG-13, his status is also unclear.
Legler’s doubts can be justified
The 76ers need both George and Embiid to be available during the postseason, where the team has struggled to move past the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals for a long time. A few days ago, Embiid had spoken about not playing during back-to-back contests for the rest of his career to achieve playoff success.
Soon after, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported that both these players will be rested during all the back-to-back games in the 2024-25 season. The 76ers are set to play 15 back-to-back games during the season.
Three of these back-to-back games will be against Chicago Bulls, while the team would also have to tackle playoff-projected squads Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat in these scenarios.
They’d desperately miss Embiid and George during these tough games, which means they can end up losing as many as 67% of contests. Apart from that, there is a high chance that the duo will miss many other games, which doesn’t bode well for their regular season record.
While Tyrese Maxey is an elite shot-creator, the team isn’t deep enough to cover up for the loss of their two key players. Thus, Legler’s reservations about their title chances make a lot of sense as this can be a repeat of the 2023-24 season when the 76ers were ousted in the first round by the Knicks.
