Camden, N.J. — Delivering Joel Embiid to the postseason in his healthiest form is a perpetual pursuit for the Sixers.
“It’s whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point and I’m ready to go because I believe basically every single year of my career, I’ve been hurt in the playoffs,” Embiid said at Monday’s Media Day.
As soon as the Sixers were eliminated at the hands of the New York Knicks in the 2024 playoffs, Embiid texted the team’s President of Basketball Operations.
“I was like, ‘We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason, I’m healthy,'” Embiid says the text to Daryl Morey read.
Joel Embiid says he lost about 25-30 lbs. Says he still wants to lose more, but that he's doing well health wise.
Says this year there is no agenda - All-Star, All-NBA, etc. It's all about getting to the playoffs ready to go.
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) September 30, 2024
“We’re going to be really smart about it," Morey told reporters Monday. "Obviously, we’re very focused on April, May, June. That doesn’t mean that the time right now isn't very important, as well. But, we’re going to be very smart about how we manage him through the season, and there’s gonna be a lot of information as we learn about how everything is working with the entire roster.
“But, with Joel, specifically, we actually have quite a few guys who we think we need to be smart about how we manage them through the season while still maintaining a high level of play and keeping the eye on the prize.”
Embiid says he’s lost 25-30 pounds. He wants to lose more weight. In his mind, the agendas will take a back seat this season.
“There’s no All-Star, no All-NBA. There’s none of that,” Embiid said.
“So, I think that’s the goal. It’s all about doing whatever it takes to get [to the playoffs healthy].”
Embiid says he’s OK physically. He feels he can be better. The big man takes comfort in knowing that he has the organization’s support in getting to where he thinks he needs to be.
“They all want the same thing. So, until I’m at that point where they feel like I’m ready to go, I’m sure they’re going to hold me back,” Embiid said.
“So, like I said, focus is on whatever it takes to get to that stage and be healthy because I believe with the guys that we have, with what I can bring to the table, we have a pretty good chance.”
Kyle Lowry says that being around Nick Nurse, Tyrese Maxey's growth, and the vision the organization had for the team were keys in him returning to the Sixers.
Perhaps teammate Kyle Lowry can be a beacon of knowledge as Philadelphia navigates the season with that goal in mind. The veteran guard won a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Lowry may have been the leader of that team, but Kawhi Leonard possessed the unrelenting talent to lead Toronto to the finish line. Leonard missed 22 games that regular season, as the team held him out of back-to-backs.
Lowry has seen what it is like to manage a star’s health in the regular season. In his mind, the key is to keep that business within the confines of the organization.
“I think the one thing I believe is that when the time comes to manage that, that no matter what, we keep it in house and we believe in what we’re going to do," Lowry said Monday. "The one thing we did in Toronto, we didn’t worry about if [Kawhi is] playing, if he’s not playing. We understand the rule. We understand what games he’s not playing and everybody’s next man up. We understand how we want to play."
“So, I think we keep everything in house and we understand what we got to and don’t worry about the outside noise.”
