When Joel Embiid hinted at his intentions to never again play back-to-back games, it was clear that he made the comments with an eye towards the postseason.
The 76ers star has been repeatedly marred by injuries in his seven playoff appearances thus far, which many have cited as the reason for the team’s inability to advance past the second round. Last season, he played in all six games of the Sixers’ opening-round loss to the Knicks, but was visibly hobbled after undergoing midseason surgery on his knee.
This year, the Sixers are determined to ensure Embiid enters the playoffs as healthy as possible. On paper, it’s not the worst plan. However, Warriors star Draymond Green believes Embiid is treading down the dangerous path of ring-chasing while sacrificing other honors.
“You should play as many games as you can play, average as many points as you can, and chase as many individual awards as you can chase,” Green advised Embiid on “The Draymond Green Show” podcast. “Because the talk of winning a championship — you may never win one. And I’m not saying he can’t win one, but what I’m saying is you may never win one, and then you shortage yourself on the thing that we know for sure you can do, which is go get an MVP, cook everybody and leave.”
Green, a four-time NBA champion, added that Embiid still doesn’t know “how to win a championship” and may never figure it out for the rest of his career. As such, he feels the 7-footer could be letting a lot of awards and accolades on the table in pursuit of a ring.
To Green’s point, Embiid won’t qualify for the MVP award, or any other regular-season accolade, if he fails to meet the criteria of 65 games. He was the leading candidate to repeat as MVP last year before his injury.
While Green wasn’t exactly critical of Embiid’s decision, others such as Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley were much more harsh with their reactions to the Sixers star’s decision to skip back-to-backs.
Embiid, 30, sat out the Sixers’ opening two games against the Bucks and Raptors and is expected to miss Sunday’s game versus the Pacers. The Sixers have yet to provide an official timeline for his season debut.
